Scorned Lady
by LillianaRose
Summary: Plays off during the Oricalcos. What if when the three legendary knights have been freed, a fourth being has been freed, the one who put the Oricalcos away the first time: Mana, the magician apprentice. I do not own Yu Gi Oh, nor the picture.
1. scorned lady-prologue

**The Scorned Lady**

 _Prologue_

(Pharoah Aknamkanon is in a hidden away temple, conversing with the gods, Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra)

"It is time, Aknamkanon, the chosen one will soon be born. While your son will be preparing to fight a great evil along with all his priests, the girl will fight an equally powerful evil at the same time, with only the help of three Atlantian knights, turned dragons. But while your son will be able to defeat the evil he was fighting against, the maiden will only be able to subdue it until your son and the girl can fight it together." said Slifer, the first god.

"She will give up her place as Atem's friend, and the role of the queen you chose for him so that she can defend him. The girl will be very powerful from the day she was born. You must seal her power away so that it can grow and strengthen. Never tell anyone of the sealed strength until you die. Then, and only then, you must tell her of the sealed strength and how to unleash it." Obelisk, the second god, continued.

"Pharaoh, the girl will go through a lot of trials before she will be able to take her place at your son's side. And even after she joined him, he will have to regain the trust which he unknowingly threw away. But do not worry about them. We have seen the future and it is a bright one." Ra, the third god, said.

"I trust you, great gods, but I do have to ask you: what is this chosen girl's name?" the overwhelmed pharaoh asked.

A pregnant silence followed for a few minutes. Then, with a single word, Ra answered. "Mana."

********sceneswitch********

"Pharaoh! There you are." Said Obadaiah, the original bearer of the Millenium Ring. "I have great news, my pharaoh, my wife has just given birth to a baby girl."

"Congratulations, my friend. And what is the child's name?" asked the pharaoh, fearing that he already knew the answer.

"We have named her Mana, my king. Obadaiah answered.

********sceneswitch********

18 years later

In the middle of the desert stands a young woman. Her messy brown hairstyle is slightly charred and the hat, which she usually wears, was nowhere in sight. Her dress is only held together with a few strands, which is threatening to snap at any moment.

Along with the girl stood three Atlantian dragons: Timeous, Critius, and Hermos.

"Timeous, Hermos, Critius, we've tried everything and nothing worked. I know of a way that will finish the leviathan. This spell is powerful, but it will only be a temporary solution. We need Atem's help, but he is too busy in his struggle against Bacura right now." said the young girl.

"Once this spell is completed, I will be sent to the world of the duelling monsters and, once there, I'll be put in a crystal-like state, and will only be freed when the strongest of the chosen warriors frees you from your dragon form." the girl continued.

The three dragons looked sadly at the girl, but they knew that there was no other way. All three nodded and stood back.

Taking a deep breath, Mana raised her right arm to be parallel with the ground, doing the same with the left arm. Then, she raised both arms to let the hands touch above her head. With both her hands touching each other, she brought them down to her chest. Then, disconnecting her hands, she quickly thrust her arms forward.

The Dragons stood in shock, having never seen this spell before, they didn't expect chains to emerge from her body.(Imagine Kushina's (Naruto) chakra chains) Still recovering from the shock they barely heard Mana's request: "Please take my tablet to the palace before you leave for the spirit world."

Then, in an action so fast that was almost too fast for even a dragon's eye, she interlaced her hands and harshly thrust it against her chest. The dragons had to look away because of a bright light that erupted from Mana's body, but when the light finally faded, leviathan was gone, and in the place where Mana stood, stood a tablet. A tablet of a smiling Mana with a snakelike creature at her feet.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Note that the storyline will be followed, but only loosely. Atem will from now on either be called Yami or Pharoah since he can't remember anything from his ancient past.

Chapter1

(Takes place the night Dark Magician Girl calls the pharaoh to the spirit world)

(After both Yami and Yugi were pulled into the palace)

"Do you see what see?" Yugi asked Yami as they gazed down.

"Yes" said Yami, suspiously eying a pillar with four raised pedestals, one in the center and the other three strategically placed around the one in the center. On the three outer pedestals, were crystal figures of gigantic dragons, and on the pedestal in the center, stood a crystal figure of a young woman.

"It's some kind of statues made out of crystal. The outer three appear to be dragons, but what's in the center?" Yami asked while he and Yugi continued descending to the floor.

"I don't know about the center figure, but the dragons are huge!" Yugi exclaimed. "I'm glad they're only statues!"

Upon reaching the floor, a delighted Dark Magician Girl appeared. "You're here!" she said happily. "I knew you'd find me!"

"You're Dark Magician Girl!" Yugi said astounded.

"Tell us why were you calling for our help?" Yami asked/

"Pharaoh, both of our worlds are in danger. And without your help, we will all cease to exist!" Dark Magician Girl said earnestly.

"But how?" Yami asked shocked.

"Wait, so professor Hawkins was right!" Yugi exclaimed.

"As long as mankind has walked the earth, the dominion of the beast has existed side by side with the human world." Dark Magician Girl continued, looking pleadingly at them, "We have lived this way for thousands of years. Although our worlds are separate, we depend upon one another in order to survive, but now something is threatening that survival and it must be stopped. A gateway between us has opened and now the great beast will swallow us all. It lives above us in the sky, feasting on the life force of monsters and humans as it did in the past. We need you! All of us need you! If this happens we will be gone forever, you two are our only hope."

"We'll help" Yami answered with sympathy.

"Yeah, but how?" Yugi asked "What are we supposed to do to stop this giant monster?"

Dark Magician Girl rose into the air before saying, "These three dragons and the maiden once served as the protectors of this world. The dragons defeated the great beast 10 000 years ago" Dark Magician Girl said defeatedly, before she continued, "But they paid a price and now they are frozen in time and cannot defend our dominion as they did then."

"But how can we help?" Yami asked.

"There is a legend that states that the three warriors can awaken the dragons when they are needed again. I believe that you, Pharaoh, are one of the chosen warriors. If you are, you will be able to pull this sword out of the dragon." Dark Magician Girl answered.

"But what if you are wrong?" Yami asked.

"I'm not wrong. I know that you saved Egypt once and I'm sure that you will be able to save us." the mage answered.

"Yugi, you ready?" Yami asked his counterpart.

"Yes. Let's try it" Yugi answered with a determined voice.

Together, after a bit of a struggle, they pulled the sword out and freed Timeous.

After joining forces with Timeous, DMG teleported Yugi and the pharaoh back to the human world. She was about to leave when the pharaoh stopped her.

"Dark Magician Girl, forgive my curiosity, but you never spoke of the statuette that stood between the dragons. Am I right to say it is a woman who was covered in the ice? Who is she?

Dark Magician Girl smiled sadly and answered. "There is a legend which takes place about 5000 ago. We were told that, around that time, the great beast awoke. The girl fought the great beast along with the three dragons, but she wasn't strong enough to defeat it, only to subdue it. It is said that the maiden was originally a human, but sacrificed herself and became a duel spirit in order to seal the great beast. There was a prophecy that the Scorned Lady and a pharaoh, who saved Egypt from a great evil, will be the ones who will ultimately defeat that monster, but no-one knows if it is just a story or if it is true. And if it is true, no-one knows how to free the maiden. We don't even know what her name is, it was forgotten in time. All that we do know, is that the statuette, whether the story is real or not, is referred to as Scorned Lady"

******Timeswitch******

(That evening, after the fight with the strange eye in the sky and the strange lights fading)

"Who do you think will be able to free the other two dragons, Pharaoh?" Yugi asked as he was walking home. The pharaoh, deep in thought, didn't respond to the question.

"Err..Pharaoh?" Yugi asked, trying to get the pharaoh's attention.

"Hm? Did you say something, Yugi?" Yami asked distractedly.

"Okay, what's wrong? You never act like this. Not even when you heard that you are a pharaoh that saved Egypt so long ago." Yugi asked with a slight frown, wondering what was bothering his friend.

"I keep thinking about the crystal woman in the spirit world. I keep having this strange feeling that that girl means something to me and for some strange reason, I feel guilty, but I do not know why." Yami admitted.

"Well, if we stop the one who started this mess, maybe you will get some answers. We can only hope that once you show the godcards to the tablet, all your memories will be restored." Yugi answered, trying to cheer his friend up while thinking to himself that this is the first time that a girl has kept the pharaoh's attention.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _(In a dimension between the human and spirit world)_

"Where am I?" asked a girl with messy brown hair. She wore a strapless dress with golden trimming. Around her waist was a golden belt. On her feet were gold-coloured sandals. Around her neck, was a golden choker with a tearshaped ruby in the center.

"You are between the human and the Spirit world, Mana. The time for your battle against the Oricalcos with the help of the Pharaoh is approaching. Once the dragons are returned to knights, you will be freed. But you can start to protect the warriors at the time in which they falter and/or lose a duel." Slifer, one of the Egyptian gods answered.

"Slifer, I am not sure if it is wise to send me to help stop the Oricalcos. Even after so much time, I am still angry at those who hurt me so long ago. What if the pain they caused me influences me in such a way, that I do something foolish and rather than help the world, I destroy it." Mana asked, fear evident on her face.

"We know how you feel, Mana, but it was part of the prophecy. If it didn't happen that way, you wouldn't have been able to save them back then." Ra comforted the hurting girl.

"You have every right to be angry and hurt, but promise us that if the warriors are in trouble, you will set your differences aside and help them. Once the war is over and you become human again, it will be up to the pharaoh to gain your trust again. You are, after all the one who carries his memories around your neck." Obelisk said, understanding how the girl feels.

But we don't have time to chit-chat right now. The pharaoh wavered and has made a grave mistake. The boy he shares a body with, will sacrifice himself to save the pharaoh. You will have to save the boy and afterwards test the pharaoh to see whether he is still worthy of the dragons' and your help. Now, go, Mana, quickly." Ra urged the girl.

"Right!" Mana answered with a fire burning in her eyes "we'll talk later" and faded out.

 _******Sceneswitch******_

 _(The pharaoh have lost the duel and Yugi has just pushed Yami out of the seal and is disappearing due to the seal's effects)_

Suddenly, before completely disappearing, Yugi heard a feminie voice "Seal of Oricalcos, as the chosen one, I unlock you!" Before he could react, he felt his hand being grabbed and pulled out of the seal.

"What the?! What is going on?" the flustered Yugi thought.

Before he could think even further, he appeared in his soulroom. He was just about to exit his room to call the pharaoh, but was stopped when Mana appeared before him.

"Are you alright? Did the seal hurt you?" the girl asked with concern written all over her face.

"What happened? Who are you? And how is it that you were able to save me from the seal? Moreover, how are you even here?" Yugi rambled, not giving the girl any time to answer any of her questions.

"Well to answer your questions in the order you asked them, I pulled you out of the seal by stopping time and temporarily unlocking the seal. I can't tell you what my name is yet, but you can call me Una. I was the one who fought against the great beast 5000 years ago" said the strange girl.

"Wait a minute. You're the statuette in the center of the pillar with the three dragons? "How is it that you are here? Dark Magician Girl didn't know how to free you! Yugi exclaimed.

"Actually, I am still a statuette. Because you're one of the dragon's holders, I was able to act through him in order to reach you. I am able to save you, but I can't do that yet. Once time resumes, you will be sealed away. But don't worry, all isn't lost. I am here to give you some good news: Soon the pharaoh will go to a place in an effort to contact you. Once there, you must duel him, test him. If the pharaoh defeats you, I will be able to free you from your Oricalcos prison. Once freed, you will be brought back here but you will unfortunately remain in a coma-like state. You will only wake once the pharaoh defeats Dartz."

"I can see that you are a good person, Una, and because you are willing to help us, I will gladly help you." Yugi answered with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Yugi, I appreciate it. Oh, when do you test him though, don't mention anything about me. If he is worthy, everything will be revealed to him shortly after the test." Mana said in a kind, but comminding voice, already fading from Yugi's view.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

(starts off after the train accident)

(Yami, still unconscious, is dreaming of what Professor Hawkins told them about the Atlantian ruins)

 _-Flashback-_

" _The ruins may have been destroyed, but there are copies of the inscriptions at the museum. It's in Florida. I was doing my research there." Professor Hawkins said._

" _That's perfect!" an optimistic Teá said, "So all we have to do is go there and translate the rest!" The professor nodded._

 _-Timeswitch-_

 _But everything went wrong when, all of a sudden, the passengers, which were on the train they took, disappeared. The train was sabotaged and the team was split up_

 _-Timeswitch-_

 _Weevil Underwood challenged Yami to a duel on top of a speeding train. With little points to spare, Yami won. But there wasn't any time to rest because the speeding train, which still kept gaining speed during the duel, was too fast for a bend in the railway and it derailed…_

 _-End Flashback-_

Jolting awake, Yami instantly wondered if it was all a dream, but when he saw a sleeping Téa, he knew that it was just wishful thinking.

"Téa, wake up." he told the sleeping girl while thinking that they had to find out where we were and try to get back to the others.

"Where are we?" Téa asked while sitting up "The last thing I remember was…" but she was cut off when a wolf-sized dog tackled and started licking her, causing the girl to laugh and giggle. Just then a girl entered the tent and reprimanded the dog, named Skye, but not in time to save the shocked pharaoh from a few licks given by the loveable dog.

"Sorry about that! I'm Chris and I see you already met Skye. Come on out, have something to eat and drink and then we can go look for my grandfather. He should be out by the river."

As they came out, they saw a girl with messy brown hair. She was wearing black coloured jeans, and white coloured lowcut t-shirt which was decorated with golden sequence. Around her neck was a golden choker with a tear shaped ruby in the center. (Three guesses anyone?) Turning away from the fire, she brought over a pot of tea, poured some in three cups and brought it to Yami, Téa, and Chris.

'Wow! What a beauty! It's strange though, this girl seems familiar, as if I have known her once.' Yami thought as the girl gave him his cup.

"Thank you for finishing the tea, Una." Chris said happily and started drinking.

'That's strange. I wonder why Chris didn't introduce us to the girl. Oh well, it must have slipped her mind' Téa mused while emptying her cup.

After finishing their tea, the five of them left to find Chris' grandfather. Once reaching him, the man gave Yami his deck back and introduced himself as Ironheart.

"Pardon me for being intrusive," the old man said, "but I couldn't help noticing you have the legendary Eye of Timeous, the only one of its kind."

"Take it" Yami responded, giving the card to Ironheart, "I am not deserving of its power"

"That's not true!" Tea exclaimed.

"I'll hold it until you're ready." Ironheart soothed.

"Did you find another kid?" Tea asked while looking around, "He had glasses and a bad haircut. He was on the train with us when it crashed."

"No, I'm afraid you were the only ones we found. Perhaps your friend was able to escape before the train fell off that cliff. I assure you there wasn't another soul on board." Ironheart answered.

Dejectedly, Yami responded, "I highly doubt Weevil was able to escape; not in the condition he was in. I'm afraid there's a greater power at work here."

"I must say, young man, you seem to possess a wisdom that reaches far beyond your years." Ironheart complimented Yami, "Now, I have encountered many people in my travels, but there's something about you that I've never seen before. Something in your eyes- I also sense a great loneliness in your heart."

Yami looked downward before responding and clenching his fist: "That's because I recently lost a very close friend of mine. And now I'm on a journey to find his soul."

"What will you do if you find him?" Ironheart inquired.

Everyone were so deep in the conversation, that no-one noticed Una swiftly disappearing around the bend of the river.

"I'll apologise," Yami said determined, "for betraying his trust and abandoning him."

"I might just be able to help" Ironheart responded, walking away, "Follow me."

-scene and timeswitch-

 **(AN Yami has entered the valley and has just called Yugi)**

"Is that really you?" Yugi asked, looking the pharaoh in the face while remembering what Una asked of him.

"Yugi, I've found you!" Yami exclaimed, reaching out to touch Yugi, only to go through him. Meanwhile, Yugi looked up to see Una, nodding at him.

"Testing time. Here goes nothing!" Yugi thought.

-timeswitch-

"I activate the trap card, Divine Wind!" Yami called out.

"He did it! Not only did he defeat the darkness inside of him, but he also passed Una's test!" Yugi thought as the attack hit him straight on.

"What have I done?" Yami says with self-hatred, running up to Yugi, not noticing Una also approaching him. By the time Yami reached down to Yugi, Una was also there, putting one of her hands on Yugi's head and the other on his heart.

"Come on! Speak to me, please! Yami pleads as he helps his friend into a sitting position, too worried about Yugi to wonder what Una was doing.

"You passed the test, pal! Not only were you able to beat the darkness in your heart, but by defeating me, you passed Una's test and now she will free me from the Oricalcos!" Shocked Yami looked at the girl who was surrounded in a pinkish-purple light, which flowed over to Yugi. Yami gasped as he saw Yugi solidify.

"Now listen quickly Pharaoh, even though Una has freed my soul from the Oricalcos, I will be in a coma-like state until you defeat Dartz. But somewhat, the worst is over, because now you will know that I am safe. I'll be waiting for you in my soulroom. Be careful out there!"

"I'll save you, Yugi! I promise." Yami swore to the boy as he transformed into a ball of light and entered their shared body.

Looking up he saw Una, who was about to pass out from the exhaustion. Swiftly, he helped her up. "I don't know how you and Yugi know each other, but thank you for saving my friend." Una, looked up at him, smiled tiredly, and nodded at him, acknowledging his thanks.

(Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff with Téa and the others)

"Wait a minute!" Chris exclaimed, "When did Una get down there? Didn't she hear my warning? We have to get her out of there, quickly!"

"It's too late! Look over there!" Ironheart said, pointing to the other side of the valley wall. There, to everyone's grief, stood Dartz's chief 'puppet', Rafael.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _-Previously-_

" _You passed the test, pal! Not only were you able to beat the darkness in your heart, but by defeating me, you passed Una's test and now she will free me from the Oricalcos!" Shocked Yami looked at the girl who was surrounded in a pinkish-purple light, which flowed over to Yugi. Yami gasped as he saw Yugi solidify._

 _Looking up he saw Una, who was about to pass out from the exhaustion. Swiftly, he helped her up. "I don't know how you and Yugi know each other, but thank you for saving my friend." Una, looked up at him, smiled tiredly, and nodded at him, acknowledging his thanks._

 _(Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff with Téa and the others)_

" _Wait a minute!" Chris exclaimed, "When did Una get down there? Didn't she hear my warning? We have to get her out of there, quickly!"_

" _Too late! Look over there!" Ironheart said, pointing to the other side of the valley wall. There, to everyone's grief, stood Dartz's chief 'puppet', Rafael._

 _-_ Back to the story-

"Rest for a while. We can leave afterwards." Yami told Una.

He was about to turn away, when suddenly, the ground started shaking.

"What's this? Yami asked no one in particular, while standing closer to Una in order to protect her if need be. Eying the girl, he saw that her eyes were laced with fear. While trying to comfort the stranger, Yami called out: "Show yourself!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the ground cracked open and the most hideous thing Yami has ever seen emerged from the fissure. Protectively placing himself in front of Una, he demanded, "Who are you, and what is this all about?"

Suddenly spirits surrounded Yami and showed him a vision of the Ancient War. Still dumbfounded after seeing Dueling Spirits, and two people who looked like Chris and Ironhear in the vision, he didn't see the seal of Oricalcos descending around them until Una tugged his arm in an effort to gain his attention, pointing to the seal as it touched the surface of the ground, encasing him, Una and the creature in the seal.

"What do you want?" Yami demanded angrily and noticed the dueldisk "It wants to duel."

Before Yami could react, the opponent's dueldisk lights up, summoning a monster, which, after gaining the additional 500 points to its orginal 400 points, attacks the pharaoh instantly. Both Yami and Una jumped, barely missing the attack.

"Are you hurt?" Yami asks Una worriedly. To his relief, Una shook her head. Neither of them were prepared for the monster's second attack. Shocked, they both saw how the Atlatian spirits protect them.

"The lost spirits of Atlantis are here to protect you, Pharaoh, but they cannot act alone! Summon your monsters and the spirits will assist them!" Ironheart hollers from the top of the cliff.

"Very well then." Yami responds. While letting the spirits enter the deck, Yami turns to Una and tells her, "Stay behind me Una. Otherwise, I won't be able to protect you." Turning back to his opponent, Yami lift his duel disk, activating it. Addressing his deck and the spirits, he says "Together, we'll take down this beast!"

Once the disk activated, Yami summoned Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500 ATK) and Berfomet (1500 ATK), and used Polymerization to fuse them together creating Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (2100 ATK). Chimera swiftly destroyed the enemy' monster, but, to Yami's disappointment, the defeated monster instantly came back, and to make matters worse, its Attack Points increased to 1400.

Again, Chimera destroyed the enemy's monster and again it came back, this time, having 1900 Attack Points.

"Every time I attack his monster, it comes back, even stronger." Yami mused "My Fissure Magic Card should stop it!"

But it didn't. This time, it came back with 2400 attack points. Thinking that it must be immune to magic cards, Yami watched helplessly as his Chimera was destroyed. Gazelle(ATK 1500) returned the field. Just as the monster attacked, Yami activated a Mirror Force, a trap card that reflects the attack back to the attacker, instantly destroying it.

Within seconds, the destroyed monster returned, this time with 2900 attack points. "Here we go again. Traps don't work either." the frustrated Yami said. Again, he could only watch as his Gazelle was destroyed, and he was thrown to the ground due to the ferocity of the attack.

While Una helps him up. Yami summons his Celtic Guardian(ATK 1400), hoping to be able to buy some time in order to find its weakness. Unfortunately, Celtic Guardian wasn't strong enough and the monster roughly threw him aside.

"Are you alright,?" Yami shouts worriedly. Forgetting what Yami told her, Una runs to the Celtic Guardian so that she could help him. "No, Una! Get back here!" Yami shouts, but its too late, the monster is attacking! Celtic Guardian was lucky enough to jump out of the monster's reach, but Una wasn't so lucky. Scared, Una shrieked loudly, raising her hands in an effort to protect her face.

Then, to everyone's amazement, a card, located in IronHeart's hand reacted. Startled for not being attacked, Una lowered her hands. There, in its majestic glory stood Timeous! To everyone's shock, the dragon curled its tail protectively around her, glaring down at the monster who dared attack Una. The enemy monster stood back, but it wasn't worth the effort, because it was yet again destroyed.

Quickly, Una ran to one of Timeous' front paws and gave him a big hug. Yami was wondering whether he should believe his eyes, because it looked like Timeous was smiling down at her, before vanishing into thin air. He was also wondering what was wrong with him, because for some unknown reason, he felt a pang of jealousy when he saw how protective the dragon was of the girl and how happy she was to see him. The fact that she hugged the dragon made him only more envious.

Walking up to the pharaoh, Una handed him a card. Taking it, he was shocked to see that it was Timeous' card, the card he gave Ironheart.

Jolting awake from the musings running through his head, the pharaoh turned and focused on the card.

"There is only one thing left to do." Yami thought before addressing the dragon on the card. "I hope you deem me worthy of your power. I'm truly sorry of having betrayed you, but the lives of so many innocent people are depending on you! So I ask you, not for myself, but for all those at risk, please, help me, Timeous. The future of two worlds hangs in the balance! We must win!"

Sacrificing his Celtic Guardian, Yami summoned his Dark Magician Girl. After summoning her, he summoned Timeous, and fused the two together, forming Dark Magician Girl, the dragon knight. Then, Yami added the Excalibur magic card, making her strong enough to end the duel.

After the seal of Oricalcos faded Yami addressed both his monsters: "Well done my creatures. He is gone now, thanks to you two, and to you Una. But I feel this is just the beginning. Dark Magician Girl faded away, but Timeous lingered behind.

"Is something wrong, Timeous?" Yami asked. To his astonishment, Timeous crounched down and looked Yami straight in the eye.

Suddenly, Yami was floating again. Realising that Timeous was trying to show him some-thing, he started looking around.

-Vision-

" _I'm in Egypt. What am I doing…" but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a dragon roar. Looking down he saw a girl and three dragons. Not far away floated a serpentlike creature that looked like the one he saw in the Ancient War. Upon further inspection, he was shocked to see the girl was Una and one of the dragons was Timeous. He was about to approach her, when he heard her addressing the dragons:_

" _Timeous, Hermos, Critius, we've tried everything and nothing worked. I know of a way that will finish the leviathan. This spell is powerful, but it will only be a temporary solution. We need his help, but he is too busy in his struggle against the thief king right now." said the young girl._

 _The three dragons looked sadly at the girl, nodded and stood back._

 _Una raised her right arm to be parallel with the ground, doing the same with the left arm. Then, she raised both arms to let the hands touch above her head. With both her hands touching each other, she brought them down to her chest. Then, disconnecting her hands, she quickly thrust her arms forward._

 _Yami, shocked beyond his wildest dreams, looked down at the dragons only to see that all three were just as shocked as he was. Not one of them expected chains to emerge from her body. Then Yami heard the girl asking the three dragons: "Please take my tablet to the palace before you leave for the spirit world."_

 _Then, all of a sudden, she interlaced her fingers and harshly thrust her hands against her chest. Shielding his eyes from the bright light that erupted from Una's body, Yami didn't see what happened to Una's body, but when the light finally faded, Yami noticed that the great beast was gone, and in the place where Una stood, was a tablet; a tablet of a smiling Una with a snakelike creature at her feet._

-Vision end-

Jolting "awake" from his vision, Yami looked at Timeous and asked: "That girl was Una, wasn't it? Timeous merely nodded and faded away.

Looking around, Yami was disappointed, but not surprised that Una was nowhere to be seen.

-Sceneswitch-

After Yami reached the others at the top of the cliff, Ironheart addressed Yami. "Pharaoh, where is your friend? I would like to know how she was able to call Timeous to come to her side. I have never seen anyone do it before."

"Wait." Téa interjected before Yami was able to answer the question, "You mean that she wasn't one of your companions?"

"No, Téa," Chris answered, "we found her among the wreckage after the train crash. It seemed as if she was protecting you when we found you. So we thought that she was one of your friends, because she was guarding you two so fiercely."

"But we have never seen her before. And before the train crash, we searched the train. Only the pharaoh and I were there." Téa protested.

"That's because she's an old spirit. Just like Ironheart, Chris, and Skye." Yami answered solemnly, while wondering if he will ever see her again.

"What do you mean, Pharaoh?" Téa asked carefully.

"During the duel, I had a vision of the Ancient War, Téa. Ironheart, Chris and Skye were also fighting in the war. You were there, weren't you Ironheart?" Yami asked, noticing the sad look on Chris' face, before she turned and walked to a tablet with the story of the Atlantian War...

"You are right, Pharaoh, Chris, Skye and I were there. We were the rulers of Atlantis before this war came. But where this Una-girl fits in all of this, I don't know. She wasn't there in the Ancient War.

"Hey, guys, come look over here! Here is a tablet with a girl on it! And she looks like Una!" Chris called out. As they approach the tablet, everyone but Yami was shocked to see her with hieroglyphic inscriptions at the side.

"I've been here thousands of times, and I've never seen this tablet before. Let's see if I can read it." Ironheart says, clearing his throat: " _Branded a traitor, this girl saved ancient Egypt from one of two tragedies. The only aid she had was three Atlantian dragons, Timeous, Hermos and Critius._ "

"Poor Una!" Téa said, breaking the silence that has fallen upon them. "But I still have a question, two actually. Why was she branded a traitor? And what is the other tragedy which they are talking about?"

"And how was she able to summon Timeous? She didn't even have a duel disk on her arm." Yami added.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _Previously_

" _I've been here thousands of times, and I've never seen this tablet before. Let's see if I can read it." Ironheart says, clearing his throat: "Branded a traitor, this girl saved ancient Egypt from one of two tragedies. The only aid she had was three Atlantian dragons, Timeous, Hermos and Critius."_

" _Poor Una!" Téa said, breaking the silence that has fallen upon them. "But I still have a question, two actually. Why was she branded a traitor? And what is the other tragedy which they are talking about?"_

" _And how was she able to summon_ _Timeous_ _? She didn't even have a duel disk on her arm." Yami added._

On with the story

The Atlatians, Yami and Téa were so focused on the stone with Una's story, that no one noticed Rafael making his way out of the valley.

On the other side of the valley, Rafael was talking with Dartz, "Did you see all of that, sir? Who was that girl? Do you know her, by any chance?"

"No, I don't know who she is, but she seems awfully familiar. It's quite odd, actually. Anyway, get back to base. We'll catch the pharaoh another way." Dartz's voice rang over the earpiece in Rafael's ear.

"And I shall be the one who will defeat him for you, Master." Rafael responded, ending the communication between them and started walking to the motorcycle, which he hid under a nearby bush.

******sceneswitch******

"Thank you for bringing us here, Ironheart. Without you, Yugi would still have been caught by the Oricalcos." Said Yami.

"What do you mean, Pharaoh? I don't think I follow you." The dumbfounded Ironheart inquired.

"I don't know how, but Una freed Yugi from the Oricalcos after I passed her test, which I assume was the duel that took place down there. Yugi said that even though he is freed he will remain in a coma-like state until this man is defeated."

"Meaning that even though he is saved, he isn't out of the woods yet. He still needs to be awakened from his coma." Téa commented. "Pharaoh, I think it will be best if we don't tell the others yet. Knowing Joey, he will do something reckless and challenge the big boss to a duel. Both of us know that he is a strong duelist, but he isn't strong enough yet."

"I may not have met the friends you are talking about, but I agree with the girl. We also don't know if your case is an exception or if she saves everyone who loses in a duel." Ironheart commented.

"I agree," Yami said "we better get going. We must still find Joey and Tristan. Once we find them, we must stop this madman before it's too late."

"Very well then, safe journey Pharaoh, Téa. We wish you the best of luck." Chris greeted.

Once the pharaoh and Téa were out of sight, Chris asked her grandfather: "Do you really think that they will be able to save him?"

"Yes, dear, I am quite certain that we will soon reunite with your father." Ironheart comforted the girl.

******sceneswitch*******

While Yami and Téa were backtracking along with the train tracks, trying to find Tristan and Joey, who were also following the tracks, neither party were aware that, high in the sky, was a slightly panicking Kaiba, trying his best to gain control of a falling airplane. Mokuba was ordered not to enter the cockpit for his own safety.

"I'll save him! I'll save my brother no matter what!" Kaiba exclaimed, "Do you hear me, Allister? This plane won't crash!"

Yanking at the controls, Kaiba didn't notice his duel disk lighting up, but he did feel an extra set of hands helping him in his battle with the controls. All of a sudden, to his greatest astonishment, the plane was surrounded by three dragons, each grabbing onto a part of the plane in an effort to save it and its occupants. The hands he felt disappeared, but suddenly, in the blink of an eye a girl appeared on the nose of the plane, making Kaiba think that now of all times, his eyes were either failing him or his dueldisk started to malfunction. After closing his eyes and opening them again, he saw that not only was the girl still on the nose of the plane, but she was also showing something as if she was directing the dragons where to land safely.

Just as the plane landed Yami, Téa, Tristan and Joey came into view, having seen the dragons helping the plane to land. Running closer to the plane, Yami saw someone jump from the nose of the plane. To his great confusion, he saw that it was Una.

"Una, what are you do…" Yami started but was interrupted when one of the plane's doors opened, revealing Kaiba with an unconscious Allister in his arms.

"O great, if it isn't the dweeb patrol." Kaiba sneered, jumping out of the plane. After laying Allister down, he stood up. Upon noticing the girl who appeared on the nose of the plane, he harsly addressed her: "Woman, who are you? And how did you all of a sudden appear on the nose of my plane?"

Ignoring Kaiba, she brushed past him, kneeling down at Allister's side. Smiling she laid a kiss on his cheek and got back up. Upon seeing Mokuba staring carefully at her, she winked at him and smiled causing him to gain a slight pink stain on his cheeks.

"Hey, Pharaoh, do you know this girl? You called her Una right?" Joey inquired curiously, having never seen the girl before in his life.

"Yes, Jeoy, Una is an old spirit, having fought against the great beast in ancient Egypt." Yami answered.

"O please," Kaiba sneered "that's all nons…" but was cut off when the KC helicopters landed. Roland jumped out and hurried to his boss.

"Mister Kaiba, Mokuba, are you hurt?" he asked worriedly.

"We're fine!" Mokuba responded reassuringly.

"Good, but I got terrible news!" he exclaimed and started to tell them that an unknown business has taken over Kaiba Corp.

Mokuba, who was only listening to Roland's story with half an ear, was staring intently at Mana. 'Why does she seem so familiar? And why does it feel like that I knew her a long time ago? It's obvious that Seto doesn't recognize her. Who can she be?'

Mana, who was still standing over Allister, silently walked up to Mokuba. Putting her hand in her pocket, she withdrew a chain with a pinkish-purple coloured crystal and put it around his neck. No one noticed what she was doing as they were too focused on Roland's rambling of the unknown buyer. Mokuba was about to thank her when she motioned him to remain silent about the necklace and winked again.

Mokuba, who was slightly pink again, nodded, indicating that he understood what she was asking from him and hid the necklace under his shirt, so that no-one could question him about it later.

Mana smiled, nodded and went back to Allister's side.

Meanwhile, Mokuba was starting to pay attention to the conversation the other were debating about.

"I don't know about you geeks, but I am going to back to the city to get my company back. If you don't want to walk all the way back, you better get on the chopper immediately." Kaiba said in his noncaring voice.

Everyone started towards the chopper, when Mokuba called out: "Hey, guys, where did that girl and Allister disappear to?"

Everyone turned around, only to see that both Una and Allister were gone, as if they disappeared into thin air.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _Previously_

" _I don't know about you geeks, but I am going to back to the city to get my company back. If you don't want to walk all the way back, you better get on the chopper immediately." Kaiba said in his non-caring voice._

 _Everyone started towards the chopper, when Mokuba called out "Hey, guys, where did that girl and Allister disappear to?"_

 _Everyone turned around, only to see that both Una and Allister were gone, as if they disappeared into thin air._

After deciding that the gang had to go to KC Headquarters to clarify the photo's Kaiba's men retrieved from the museum, everyone decided that it would be wise to take a nap in the helicopter, seeing that no-one knew when they were able to get some time to rest again. Yami had just fallen asleep, but it wasn't a peaceful one:

Yami's dream

"Where am I?" Yami wondered as he felt himself walking down the halls of an unknown, yet familiar palace.

Before Yami could debate any further, he heard a loud roar coming from the palace courtyard. Running into the inner courtyard, Yami was stunned to see three dragons circling above the courtyard. Then, to his amazement, Yami saw all three of them landing. The one in the middle put down a stone tablet. All three dragons bowed to the stone and faded away. Recovering from the shock of what he just saw, he did not focus on the tablet until a man, who was wearing the millennium ring, run towards the tablet, only to fall to his knees when he finally reached it. Swiftly, Yami felt himself approaching the man and helping him up.

"What have we done? What have we done!? She was telling us the truth! We killed her, Pharoah! We killed Mana!" the man said crying, falling to his knees again.

Shocked, Yami felt as his head jerked towards the tablet, his knees give way under him and his heart ripped into shreds. On the tablet, was a picture of the most beautiful woman he ever saw, a woman who he considered his best friend, and a woman he loved.

"My pharaoh, what has happened? A man shouted, running towards them. Looking up, he saw five people, each carrying a millennium item, approach him and the man next to him. Letting his tears fall freely, he felt himself standing up, turn to the others and said in a shaky voice: "Its Mana, she's dead." and stood aside to let the others see the tablet.

End Dream

Jolting awake, Yami glanced around him, only to see that everyone, except for Kaiba, were still asleep. 'What was that? A dream? Or a memory? It felt so real! Who was that woman? And why did I feel so heartbroken when I realised that she died? What on earth happened back then? If only I could remember!' he thought frustrated.

"I see you are awake." Kaiba interrupted Yami's musings, "Wake your friends. We will be landing in five minutes time." Kaiba instructed as he moved to wake Mokuba.

 _Scene switch_

'What the? O, I'm here again.' Mana thought as she once again appeared in the dimension between the human and the spirit world.

"Ah, Mana, how are you holding up? You've been quite active recently." Asked Slifer

"Yes child, you must be careful. If you keep this up you will barely have any strength left when the real battle comes. Remember, a great deal of your strength is sealed away and in the 5000 years that you've been keeping that blasted eyesore captive, you've had rarely any time to regain any of the strength you've lost in the battle." Added Obelisk

"Especially after you've gone out to save those families from Dartz's claws a few years ago." The Winged Dragon of Ra added.

"I am sorry, but I couldn't just sit there and allow them to get hurt, while I can save them. I guess some things will never change, whether it is back in Egypt, or in this modern world. Anyway, I think I have regained enough strength for the coming battle" Mana replied. 'At least I hope have regained enough strength.' she thought.

"You always did have a big heart. I am proud of you, Mana, for being able to put all your hurt and frustration aside to help the pharaoh once again." Ra complimented the young woman."

"Were you able to give the protection stone to the boy? If he learns what happened to his parents a few years ago, he will most likely lose control and end up as another pawn of that wretched Oricalcos." Slifer asked.

"Yes, I've given the stone to him." Mana answered, "He will be safe, but I'm afraid that I will have to test his elder brother if he loses in a duel. He has gone cold and extremely arrogant from the last time I saw him."

"We trust you, Mana, do as you see fit." Obelisk said before continuing, "You better get going, Hemos' holder has just entered a duel with one of the Oricalcos pawns."

"Right" Mana answered before fading away.

 _Scene switch_

 _(With Joey)_

"I activate the seal of Oricalcos!" Valen cried out.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Kaiba and Yami)_

Yami and Kaiba have, after a bit of a struggle, finally reached the KC mainframe and had analysed the photos and sent it to Rebecca's computer, where the professor has just started reading the inscriptions:

"After its 5000 year long slumber, the black serpent will swallow the sun then paradise will rule once more. If the black serpent is stopped, it will rest for another 5000 years and will then try again." The professor read.

"So after Una stopped it 5000 years ago, it was forced to return to its slumber and has thus appeared now to try to take over the world again." Yami mused while remembering how the chains shot out of Una and dragged the serpent into her.

"Hold on" Kaiba said interjecting Yami's musings "that insignia looks familiar! Where have I seen it before? Wait a sec! It can't be!" he exclaimed and swiftly started typing something on the keyboard.

"Can't be what?" Yami questioned.

"The symbol of a secret financial organisation known as Paradios." Kaiba answered, "No one has ever seen them, but rumour has it that that they control a small piece of every company in the world."

"Oh no!" Kaiba shouted "It is them! Yugi, the president of Paradios is Dartz. You don't know what we're up against!" He stated, showing Yami photos of Dartz.

"That's him!" Yami stated, remembering the vision he had. "He's the stranger from my vision. He fought against Ironheart in the ancient battle of Atlantis."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Yami thought with a scowl on his face. "How can the same man, who fought in a battle ten thousand years ago, be the president of a modern day corporation?"

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(Back with Joey)_

"You might have won the duel between you and that fool Valen, Wheeler, but you will not be so fortunate against me." Mai stated with an evil smirk before continuing "Cyber Harpie attack his…." but paused before finishing her command.

"What am I doing?" She thought, "I can't do it. What is my problem? This is a no brainer. If I blast him, I'll win the duel and he'll be gone forever. One attack and I can finally move on with my life."

"Congratulations, you win." Joey said to the frozen woman and started falling, but was caught before he fully reached the ground.

"Why, Joey, why do you always go through so much trouble to protect me?" Mai asked the young man who was slowly losing his consciousness.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? It's because I love you, Harpie. Why do you think I went berserk when Marik sent you to the Shadow Realm? But I could never scrounge up enough courage to tell you the truth, because I can't give you anything. But at least now, I know that you will be safe. Thank you for a wonderful duel, Mai." Joey answered the girl before pushing her out of the seal, ripping the Oricalcos stone from her neck.

"No, Joey, don't leave me!" Mai called out, catching his limb body. Mai was still trying to adjust from what she just heard, when suddenly, Hermos' card lit up. But instead of a dragon, she saw a girl with messy brown hair. The girl was wearing a simple, but elegant black dress with gold trimming and a golden choker with a tear shaped ruby. Mai was just about to ask the girl who the heck she was when she heard a strange voice in her head.

"Don't worry, Mai, the seal didn't take Joey. Although safe, he isn't out of the woods yet. The rest of Joey's friends are very near. When they arrive, tell the pharaoh that Joey is in the same state as Yugi. He will understand and explain to you what's going on."

The strange girl smiled and started fading away.

"Wait!" Mai called out to the girl, "Who are you?"

"You can call me Una" the girl replied and disappeared.

A few minutes later, Yami, Téa, and Tristan found an unconscious Joey in the arms of a crying Mai.

"Yugi, I don't understand!" Mai said, doing her best to stop crying "Joey and I were duelling, but he lost. Then out of nowhere, this strange girl, Una, appeared and said that Joey was safe but he is in the same state that you're in. And now, he won't wake up. What on earth is going on?" She asked distraught.

Yami and Téa glanced at each other before looking back at Mai.

"This is why I didn't say anything before, but seeing that it didn't work, I guess it is safe to start telling you what happened in the Valley of the lost souls." Yami stated and told the rest of the gang what precisely happened in the valley.

After explaining everything to Mai and Tristan, Mai looked down, took Hermos' card and gave it to Yami. "Here, take it." She pleaded, "Only you can save them, Yugi. You are the only one who will be able to do it."

"Very well, Mai, thank you." Yami responded and took the card. "I think the time has come to finish Dartz's madness."

The other three nodded. Tristan picked Joey up and the five of them left to face Dartz.

No one noticed that Valen disappeared.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _Previous_

 _Mai looked down, took Hermos' card and gave it to Yami. "Here, take it." She pleaded "only you can save them, Yugi. You are the only one who will be able to do it."_

" _Very well, Mai, thank you." Yami responded and took the card. "I think the time has come to finish Dartz's madness."_

 _The other three nodded. Tristan picked Joey up and the five of them left to face Dartz._

(A.N. The duel between Rafael and Yami has just finished and like in the original story, Yami has won and Rafael has been saved)

(The building is collapsing. Everyone is safe except for Yami, Mai and Rafael as they are struggling up against the stairs)

"We have to leave now, Mr Kaiba!" Roland called out.

"Say what?" Téa shrieked.

Rafael, seeing that he was slowing the pharaoh down, gathered all his strength, grabbed the pharaoh, and threw him to the top of the building seconds before the stairs gave way under his feet. Mai, who was already at the top of the building, quickly helped Yami up.

Anxiously looking over the edge, Yami saw that Rafael was hanging onto a small ledge by one hand. When Mai shrieked, he quickly looked up, only to see her pointing to something sitting calmly on the ledge. To Yami's utmost horror, he realised that it was Una. Calmly Una got up and walked up to Rafael. When she reached him, she sat down again and put her hand on Rafael's.

"Una, what are you doing? Quickly grab my hand! Come on, this building is going to collapse any minute now!" Mai called out.

"You too, Rafael! Take my hand!" Yami ordered.

Ignoring Yami's command, Rafael reached into his coat's pocket, took out a computer chip, and threw it to the pharaoh.

"Take this." Rafael ordered the pharaoh. "Don't loose it! You'll need it if you're planning to take out Dartz."

"Sir, please" Roland begged Kaiba while getting on the chopper "we have to go!"

Slowly, the chopper started to rise into the air. At the last second Kaiba jumped on board of the chopper.

"Grab our hands, guys, we don't have much time. This whole place is going down!" Mai called out desperately.

"Yes, please" Yami pleaded.

"Go while you can." Rafael ordered and fell into the abyss as his weight was too much for the ledge he was holding onto.

"Rafael!" Yami called out

"No, Una, what are you doing? Have you gone insane?" Mai cried out. To Yami's horror, he saw Una standing at the edge of the ledge and diving after Rafael. Again, Yami had the strangest feeling. The feeling he had when he saw the woman on the tablet. The feeling of his heart being ripped into shreds!

"Una, no!" He called out and was surprised to feel tears gather behind his eyes.

Slowly Yami and Mai got up. Just then, the chopper got down to a height parallel to the building's top.

"Come on, Pharoah. Jump. I'll catch you!" Tristan called out.

"I'm right here, Mai, I won't let go." Téa encouraged Mai.

Simultaneously, Yami and Mai looked at each other, nodded and leapt to their catch partner, grabbing firmly onto their hands when landing on the helicopters loading panel.

 _Sceneswitch_

Slowly waking up, Rafael was shocked to see his family sitting around his bed in the home he grew up in.

"Is this a dream?" He asked his mother.

His mother smiled and answered, "No, Rafael, this isn't a dream, nor was the accident of the ship capsizing. You see, this girl here was able to save everyone on the ship. Everyone except for you, that is." and pointed to Una who was leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes, son, but she wasn't strong enough to send us back home, so we had to wait in a plain where we were in a stasis like state, so that she could gather up enough strength to send us back. She only told us yesterday that she was finally strong enough. Right now, you are also in the same plain as we are." Rafael's father continued where his mother left off.

"Rafael, please don't be mad at the girl. She was very weak back then, because instead of gaining enough strength to fight against the "lizard" as she calls it, she constantly had to go out and save other people from Dartz, like Mikey and his mother as well as other people." Sonya pleaded.

"She also said that, when and if you are willing, she can send all of us back to a before the accident. She also said that we can go on the ship again, but then we will have to wait until she has taken Dartz down, seeing as she desperately needs to save every bit of the strength she builds up from now on out." Julian added.

"So, the big question is, Rafael, are you willing to wait until Dartz is defeated and go back to before the accident, or do you want to pick up the pieces here and continue onward?" the girl called Una asked while moving closer to the bed.

"O yeah, I'll wait. But until you're strong enough, I'm going back out there and help the pharaoh in every way I can." Rafael responded determined.

Una smiled sincerely for a short while before turning serious again.

"When you wake up, I won't be there. Don't worry about it, though. I will be around shortly. Now let's get going. The war has started. Once this battle is over, I promise that I will send you back. Once you arrive there, none of you will remember what has happened these last few years." Una said before walking out of the room.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _Previously_

" _But until you're strong enough, I'm going back out there and help the pharaoh in every way I can." Rafael responded determined._

 _Una smiled sincerely for a short while before turning serious again._

" _When you wake up, I won't be there. Don't worry about it, though. I will be around shortly. Now let's get going. The war has started. Once this battle is over, I promise that I will send you back. Once you arrive there, none of you will remember what has happened these last few years." Una said before walking out of the room._

(A.N. The duel where Dartz faces the pharaoh and Kaiba has taken place like on tv right up to the point where the mirror knight's helmets crack.)

"What going on?!" Kaiba demanded.

"Yugi! Joey!" Yami exclaimed. 'But how? I thought that Una freed them. They were supposed to be in a coma-like state until Dartz is defeated. How did that vile man get his hands on them? Did Una lie to Yugi? Or did something happen to her when she jumped after Rafael?' he thought, suddenly doubting whether he could trust her or not and feeling a familiar, yet strange pang to the chest.

Flashback

" _You passed Una's test and now she will free me from the Oricalcos!" Shocked Yami looked at the girl who was surrounded in a pinkish-purple light, which flowed over to Yugi. Yami gasped as he saw Yugi solidify._

" _Now listen quickly Pharaoh, even though Una has freed my soul from the Oricalcos, I will be in a coma-like state until you defeat Dartz. But in a way, the worst is over, because now you will know that I am safe. I'll be waiting for you in my soulroom." said Yugi._

Flashback 1 end

Flashback 2

" _Joey and I were duelling, but he lost. Then out of nowhere, this strange girl, Una, appeared and said that Joey was safe but he is in the same state that you're in." said a confused and teary Mai._

Flashback 2 end

Flashback 3

" _No, Una, what are you doing? Have you gone insane?" Mai cried out. To Yami's horror, he saw Una standing at the edge of the ledge and diving after Rafael. Again, Yami had the strangest feeling. The feeling he had when he saw the woman on the tablet. The feeling of his heart being ripped into shreds!_

" _Una, no!" He called out as was surprised to feel tears gather behind his eyes._

Flashback 3 end

"Hey Dartz, I think your dueldisk is faulty." Kaiba mocked, interrupting Yami's musings just in time to let him see Yugi's and Joey's faces disappear, leaving two knights headless and the remaining two with faces, one had Pegasus' face while the other one had Solomon Moto's face.

"What have you done, Pharaoh? How were you able to save your friends from the Oricalcos?" Dartz demanded.

"O please," Kaiba mocked, "just because he is the King of Games doesn't mean he is the reason your dueldisk is giving problems. Now Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon(ATK 4300) attack those knights. Take them out!"

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon attacked the soldiers but Yami, who was watching while mentally apologising for doubting Una, noticed that Ciotora nullified the attack.

(A.N. I'M NOT GOING TO WRITE OUT THE ENTIRE DUEL, BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE PAGES. THEREFORE, I WILL LET THE DUEL FOLLOW THE ANIME AND WILL ANNOUNCE WHERE I WILL PICK UP AGAIN)

(A.N. WE START OFF AT THE POINT WHERE RAFAEL INTERRUPTS THE DUEL. KAIBA HAS 600 POINTS LEFT, PEGASUS SENT A TELEPATHIC MESSAGE TO YAMI, TELLING HIM THAT THE CARD HE GAVE HIM WAS HIS ONLY HOPE.)

"You don't look happy to see me," Rafael said, "and after all we've been through. Where's the love? Don't answer that. I've heard enough lies from you! The pharaoh opened me up to the truth."

"Really now?" Dartz taunted.

"Yea, really, and after the pharaoh saved me from the darkness in my heart, Una went further and has saved me from my loneliness." Rafael responded.

"Una's alright? Is she here with you?" Yami asked, while wondering why he was so relieved to hear that she was safe and unharmed.

"She is alright, but I don't know where she is right now. Don't worry though, I have a feeling that she will be here before the end of the duel."

'The girl in the valley? Why is she fighting in this battle? Could she be the one? I didn't see the one who stopped the great beast 5000 years ago very clearly. Could it be that it was this Una-girl?' Dartz pondered before mocking Rafael: "Well, then, I guess I can stop this charade I've built around you and your so-called friends. How about a little exposé? Let's start with Allister. Gozuboru Kaiba's men supposedly killed his family, while I was actually the one who had those people killed. I was also the one who messed up Valen's life, when I framed him for a crime when he was 9 years old. How do you think he ended up in that juvenile centre of his? And then, there's you- a poor little boy, who has to see his family drown after the cruise ship capsized. You see, Rafael, you and your friends have been my pawns from the very start!" Dartz mocked with glee, thinking that the explanation will make Rafael so angry that the hatred will take him over and reopening the fool to the seal's magic.

"Why am I not surprised? You look shocked, Dartz" Rafael told the surprised Dartz. "I told you that the pharaoh and Una saved me. Have you gotten anything else you want to admit?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have the Pearson, now known as the Kaiba brothers, whose fire-fighting parents were called out to a non-existing fire in the mountains. Their helicopter was sabotaged, causing them to crash in the mountains. And just to make sure that no-one found them, a different flight path was filed at the fire-department and the chopper's radio was destroyed in the crash"

"It was you?!" Mokuba yelled, getting more worked up by the second, "You were the one who caused my parents to disappear, and inevitably caused us to go to that awful man? You caused that my brother never smiles anymore. He was filled with so much hate, and it's entirely your fault!"

"Mokuba, calm down! He's just messing with your head!" Kaiba ordered, but it didn't help.

Mokuba was too emotional. Then, out of nowhere, a seal started to form around Mokuba and slowly started to grow around him.

"Yes, little boy, I was the reason your mommy and daddy never came back home. I was hoping that I could corrupt both so that I have both of you at my disposal, but, unfortunately, it turns out that the eldest brother was one of the chosen duelists and the youngest was protected by some force, causing that I couldn't get my hands on either of them." Dartz taunted the younger Kaiba brother, knowing that if he upset the boy enough, he would gain another soul for the great leviathan.

The seal around Mokubah was now fully activated and was beginning to shrink to take the boy captive. However, a mere second before the seal sucked Mokuba away, something under Mokuba's shirt lit up. Taking it out, Mokuba was surprised to see that it was the stone Una gave him. It was glowing and filling him with a warm, loving feeling. Suddenly, Mokuba could hear a voice in his head.

"Mokuba, please calm down. Your parents are alive and well. I was able to save them before the helicopter crashed, but I as much as I wanted to, I couldn't send them back to you and your brother. I was simply not strong enough at the time. However, if your brother and the pharaoh can defeat Dartz, I will be able to bring them back to you, but to do that, I need you to trust me."

"Who are you?" Mokuba asked mentally.

"I'm called Una. Now will you trust me?" The voice questioned.

"I – I don't know. Give me a little time to think about it." Mokuba inquired.

"Alright, you have three minutes before I ask you again." Una responded.

Kaiba, who was still calling out to Mokuba in an effort to get him to respond was surprised to see the glowing stone around his brother's neck. But what shocked him more, was the fact that the seal which surrounded his brother remained in a stasis-like form, as if it is waiting for something…

TBC


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 _Previously_

" _Mokuba, please calm down. Your parents are alive and well. I was able to save them before the helicopter crashed, but I as much as I wanted to, I couldn't send them back to you and your brother. I was simply not strong enough at the time. However, if your brother and the pharaoh can defeat Dartz, I will be able to bring them back to you, but to do that, I need you to trust me."_

" _Who are you?" Mokuba asked mentally._

" _I'm called Una. Now will you trust me?" The voice questioned._

" _I – I don't know. Give me a little time to think about it." Mokuba inquired._

" _Alright, you have three minutes before I ask you again." Una responded._

 _Kaiba, who was still calling out to Mokuba in an effort to get him to respond, was surprised to see the glowing stone around his brother's neck. But what shocked him more, was the fact that the seal which surrounded his brother remained in a stasis-like form, as if it is waiting for something….._

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" Rafael asked Mokuba while approaching him.

"A voice said that my parents are alive and-" Mokuba started.

"What?! Mokuba, what are you talking about? They died, don't you remember? Don't let Dartz get to your head!" Kaiba ordered.

"You were saying, kid?" Rafael inquired, completely ignoring Kaiba's brute orders.

"A voice said that she saved my parents before the crash, but wasn't able to send them back to me and Seto, saying something about being too weak. She says that she can send them back to us, but she needs me to trust her." Mokuba responded.

"Did this woman by any chance tell you her name?" Rafael asked.

"She said she is called Una."

"Then you can trust her." Rafael responded with a reassuring grin. "My family was supposedly killed, but she put her own existence in danger in order to save them. I've even seen my family again. She also said that she saved other families too, like Allister's mother and brother. You won't be making the wrong choice if you trust her."

"Mokuba, your three minutes are over. I need your answer now. Will you trust me?" Una's voice echoed through Mokuba's head.

"Yes, Una, I will trust you." Mokuba responded.

Kaiba, who was still calling out to Mokuba in an effort to get him to answer him was shocked beyond comparison when the glowing pink stone pulsed, and that the seal which surrounded his brother suddenly jumped away from Mokuba and formed a third ring around the duelists.(him, Yami and Datz)

Yami, who was silently observing the events, noticed that this ring was different than the other two, but wasn't certain whether it would count in their favour, or in Dartz's.

"Mokuba, are you alright?" Kaiba asked his brother worriedly, but didn't get any reply. Looking away from the strange third circle towards Mokuba, he noticed that the boy was out cold and that Rafael caught him only second before he crumbled to the ground.

"Don't worry." Rafael assured him, "he merely fainted. He'll be fine. But if you want to get over here, you better finish this duel."

"Kaiba," Yami said, "I think he's right. The only way that you will get your company back and I the answers I need, is to continue this duel and defeat Dartz."

"As much as I hate doing this, I agree with you. It is my turn." Kaiba said, drawing his card.

(A.N. THE DUEL CONTINUES JUST AS THE NORMAL STORY. KAIBA WAS ABLE TO DESTROY THE KNIGHTS WITH HIS DRAGON. YAMI HAS SACRIFICED HIS BIG SHIELD GARDNA __TO SAVE KAIBA. CIOTORA WAS DESTROYED, AND IN ITS PLACE CAME ORICALCOS SCHUNIROS(ATK 20,000.) ORICALCOS DEXIA AND ORICALCOS ARISTIROS WERE RELEASED.)

(A.N. KAIBA JUST LOST HIS LIFE POINTS AND THE SEAL IS STARTING TO SUCK HIM UP. BUT BEFORE BLACKING OUT, HE ACTIVATED A TRAP, GIVING YAMI'S LIFEPOINTS A BOOST. )

After Kaiba was thrown out of the seal, something strange happened. Kaiba's deck lit up and shot out a bright light, which surrounded Kaiba's body. Before Yami could ask what was going on, a freakishly eery eye appeared behind Dartz and created an insanely strong wind, knocking everyone in the room, apart from him and Dartz out.

Still calling out to his friends, without getting any response, Dartz decided that it was time to taunt the poor pharaoh again:

"Don't worry Pharaoh, your friends are fine. I don't need weak souls. I just wanted to spend some quality time with you one on one, is that so wrong?"

"That's enough." The pharaoh ordered distraught.

"But there is something I think you'll want to know." Dartz countered, "You and I met 5000 years ago, when you were king of Egypt. We may not have been officially introduced, but I was there watching you."

"Go on." The pharaoh encouraged begrudgingly.

"When the battle of Atlantis ended, I thought the great leviathan was gone forever. That is until it suddenly reappeared in Egypt and I met you." Dartz said.

"Hold on. What does that evil thing have to do with me?" the confused Yami called out.

"I thought you'll never ask." Dartz taunting continued as he started showing Yami a vision.

"Behold the palace of the pharaoh in the year 3000BC. Ring any bells? Hmm?"

Looking down, Yami saw himself along with other people, facing a strange monstrosity.

(A.N. I WILL CALL THE PHAROAH IN THE DUEL YAMI, AND THE ONE IN THE VISION PHARAOH)

"Tell me; is that really me in the ancient past?" Yami asked, watching as the vision played out.

One of the men stepped forward and said, "Allow me to vanquish this intruder, my king."

"No!" the pharaoh said, "I shall handle this. Great deity of darkness, I invoke thee. Hear my call. Arise, Obelisk, the Tormentor!"

Astonished, Yami watched as Obelisk struck down the intruding monster.

Gasping, Yami asked: "Why are we watching this?"

"Because it was on this very day that the leviathan rose again. If I was able to capture you and your priests back then, the leviathan would have won. But then someone put a dent in my plans." Dartz asked.

"What do you mean?" Yami asked, fearing that he would not like the answer he was going to receive. "And why didn't you confront me back then?"

"Simple, the leviathan was already awake and was hiding out in the desert, waiting for me to bring the last offerings for it to fully arise. But then, that other man came and started his battle against you and your followers. I decided to go back to the leviathan and wait, because the other man was in my way." Dartz started to explain and continued his story.

"But when I got back, the leviathan was gone and the sand was charred and smouldering, as if a great battle took place in my absence. I went back to the palace and was just in time to see three dragons lay down a tablet with an imprint of a girl on it, with the leviathan cowering at her feet. She must have been very strong if she was able to seal the leviathan for 5000 years. What the foolish girl didn't know was that the leviathan can only be subdued for 5000 years at time, and then it will break free from no matter what kind of restraint was placed on it. I simply had to wait, for I knew my day would come. And it did, 5000 years later, when a naïve young man unlocked the dark magic. With that came the return of the shadow games and the rebirth of the pharaoh and his rivals. Shortly after that the restraint that girl placed on the leviathan was broken and the leviathan was also set free."

"So that's why you've been targeting my friends." Yami accused.

"That's right. You should be flattered. Never have I seen such a powerful group of souls in either era."

"You're sick." Yami said with disgust in his voice. 'Especially for taking her away from me, because no matter how you look at it, it's because of him and this leviathan of his that caused her to leave me to make such a sacrifice. Wait a minute! Leave me? Why did I just think that? What on earth happened back then?' Yami thought astounded.

"O, I'm the sick one? The fact remains that you ushered the shadow games 5000 years ago and nearly wiped out your whole kingdom." Dartz countered.

"That's a lie!" Yami shouted vehemently.

"I saw it all, the way you conjured up creatures of darkness to do your bidding. You're evil, Pharaoh, and there's no way of denying it. And soon you'll get what you deserve, when I feed you to the leviathan and complete that which I started centuries ago!" Dartz called out with malicing glee.

TBC


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 _Previously_

" _Never have I seen such a powerful group of souls in either era." Dartz gloated_

" _You're sick." Yami said with disgust in his voice. 'Especially for taking her away from me, because no matter how you look at it, it's because of him and this leviathan of his that caused her to leave me to make such a sacrifice. Wait a minute! Leave me? Why did I just think that? What on earth happened back then?' Yami thought astounded._

" _O, I'm the sick one? The fact remains that you ushered the shadow games 5000 years ago and nearly wiped out your whole kingdom." Dartz countered._

" _That's a lie!" Yami shouted vehemently._

" _I saw it all, the way you conjured up creatures of darkness to do your bidding. You're evil, Pharaoh, and there's no way of denying it. And soon you'll get what you deserve, when I feed you to the leviathan and complete that which I started centuries ago!" Dartz called out with malicing glee._

(Kaiba pov)

"Wake up, big brother, we're here!" I heard a delighted voice say.

Looking around, I saw that I was in a kind of astral form. Looking up, I couldn't believe my eyes. There, right in front of me was my mother, unloading the family car.

"Hurry up, Seto. The sooner we get everything unpacked we can start our well-deserved vacation!" Mother said with a tinkling laughter.

"That's right." I heard a voice say behind me. Adruptly turning around, I saw the man who I thought I'd never seen again, my father. "No fire-fighting for three weeks! Just sun, beach and waves!"

"This is going to be the best vacation ever." Mokuba called out. "Just the four of us!"

 _Timeswitch_

"I can't believe this, Seto." I heard and saw Mokuba clinging to my younger self. "They're gone! We've got nothing left!"

My younger self smiled and said "All is not lost, Mokie! We still have each other. And I won't let them separate us, ever!"

 _Timeswitch_

"Enough of this foolishness, Mokuba. I don't have time for nonsense! I have a Company to run." I heard my own voice say with harshness.

Looking up, I saw myself walking away from a teary Mokuba.

"O, Seto," I heard Mokuba whisper, "you're becoming more and more like Gozaboru Kaiba every day. What would mother and father say of what you've become? What happened to the big brother who played with me at our beach house before the helicopter crash?"

"That's not true! I'm nowhere near like our stepfather. How could you even say that?" I asked, only to realise that Mokuba couldn't hear a word I said.

"I don't know how much longer I can put up with this. But I know one thing for sure. If you keep this up, I'd rather run away and live in the streets than in this cold house." Mokuba whispered with tears streaming down his cheeks.

 _Timeswitch_

Opening my eyes again, I saw that I was on top of my duel tower, and I lost the duel. Again Yugi was rambling about fate, destiny, that nonsense of friendship and the heart of the cards. And just like I remember, I lashed out at Yugi, saying that all of us are alone, that I never had anyone. Looking down at Mokuba, I was shocked to see him looking at my rambling self with emotions of hurt, anger and disappointment.

'I think I'm beginning to realise what's going on.'

Suddenly, I heard my brother's thoughts: "No wonder I started spending time with Yugi and the others and going to them whenever I needed help. I guess he doesn't consider me his brother anymore."

 _Sceneswitch_

"I must say that I'm really disappointed in you, Seto. You held so much promise" I heard the voice of a woman calling out to me.

Opening my eyes, I saw the girl who appeared on the nose of my plane. Looking around, I saw that we were in a white plain.

"What is this?" I demanded.

"This is your punishment, Seto, since you have forgotten what your real parents taught you and denying the fact that you and Mokuba still had each other by claiming you're alone I've decided to send your brother to your parents, who're already waiting for him. Look." The girl said and pointed over my shoulder.

Turning around, I was stunned to see my parents standing next to each other and Mokuba running into their outstretched arms.

"No! Mokuba! Mokuba! I'm sorry! Mokuba, come back, please!" I yelled out with anguish, as my knees buckle, no longer able to support me as my body filled with dread and regret.

"You know, I might be able to give him back to you, for something in return, of course." The girl said seriously.

"What? What do you want in return? I'll give you anything!" I said hoarsely, as hope started to fill my being.

"Kaiba Corp" The girl said.

"What?" I inquired, not sure whether my ears are deceiving me.

"You heard me. After all, you were so obsessed with your company that you completely forgot your little brother."

"You're wrong. I had to work so hard to make success of my stepfather's mess. I had to work to make sure that we have a place to live. And when that plane was going to crash, I fought to protect by brother!" I denied

"Kaiba," the girl reasoned, with edginess in her voice, "have you ever considered getting a PA? Their purpose is to make the life easier for businessmen like yourself and there are a lot of fully qualified PA's out there who can easily run the company, be they either man or woman. And were you really fighting to protect your brother when the plane was about to crash, or were you fighting to prove that you aren't like Gozaboru Kaiba, or simply to protect your foolish pride?" the girl countered.

After some thinking, I came to a realisation. She was right.

"You're right. I have forgotten where my loyalties lie." I admitted ashamed.

"So Kaiba," the girl said "are you willing to give Kaiba Corp to me, in exchange for your brother?"

Taking a deep breath, I breathed out a "yes".

"Well, I am relieved to hear that you are willing to admit your mistakes and try to rectify them. I will give you back your brother and let you keep your company, but you are going to get some form of assistance for Kaiba Corp so that you can spend some time with your family. If, however, I discover that you have returned to your old ways, I will come for Mokuba." The girl said forcefully.

"Thank you." I sighed in relief.

"This is your last chance, Kaibah. Don't mess it up. Also don't get too comfortable. The pharaoh will need you later on as the fight against Dartz has not seized yet. When the duel is over, you will wake. Be ready to assist him in any way you can." She ordered.

"Who are you?" I inquired.

"I'm called Una. Now, it is time for you to go to sleep." She answered.

'Wait a minute! CALLED Una? Could that mean that Una isn't her real name? Who is she then?' I wondered as unconsciousness claimed me.


	12. Chapter 11

**Just to let you know, Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn't belong to me.**

 **Also, thankyou for all the reviews! They are greatly appreciated**

Chapter 11

 _(with Pegasus and Solomon Moto)_

Waking up, Solomon Moto was astonished to see that he and other people were all in strange bubble-like spheres and were all heading to something what looked like a giant eye.

'Now, let's see, how did I end up in this mess?' Solomon mused. 'Wait, now I remember, strange creatures surprised me outside my shop and the next thing I know, I wake up here!' Having somewhat figured out what happened, Grandpa said out loud "Well, at least for now, I'm alri-" but was cut off before he could finish.

"If you finish that sentence of yours, I will really think you have gone bonkers, old man. Can't you see that if something doesn't happen soon, we're in big trouble?" the voice inquired.

Looking around, Grandpa saw that the voice that voice came from Pegasus.

"Pegasus," Grandpa greeted the dramatic man before inquiring, "Where exactly are we?"

Looking around, Grandpa saw a lot of people who were all asleep, each of them in their in sphere. Quickly realising what was going on, he started to panic "I know I am an old coot with back problems, but I am not ready to become a snack just yet. I want to see my great-grandchildren before I kick the bucket!" he said with anime tears running down his cheeks.

Sweatdropping, Pegasus decided to ignore that statement and continue. "Hopefully, Yugi-boy and his friends will be able to defeat the mastermind before all is lost."

"Actually, Yugi is in a coma. We'll have to put our faith in the pharaoh that fought you in the shadow game, but I'm not sure if he will be able to take down the Oricalcos card. The last time I saw him, he had some issues and was very unsure of himself." Solomon said with a wavery voice.

"There is one thing that can help." Pegasus said with confidence.

"Oh?" Grandpa asked, "And what is that?"

"It's the card I gave him. And if the Pharaoh draws it, he'll be able to unleash a force like no other." Pegasus explained.

"This card can beat Dartz?" Grandpa asked as hope started to kindle in his heart.

"Yes," Pegasus answered with a slight frown, "you see, it was during a trip to Egypt that I was inspired to create the game of Duel Monsters, after making an astonishing discovery. Ancient kings and sorcerers once performed dark rituals to conjure real monsters. These creatures were believed to have lived in a universe parallel to ours, and guarding the gateway to the dominion of the beasts were three legendary dragons, known as Timeous, Critius and Hermos." He explained, before he asked, "But you already knew about that, right? Or did the others keep you in the dark?"

"I knew some of the things you just told me, but not everything." Grandpa answered honestly.

"Then you will probably not know that these dragons aren't what they appear to be. They were buried with a dark secret, so I created a card that unlocks this mystery." Pegasus explained.

"Alright, now I'm really intrigued." Grandpa encouraged. "What's the secret?"

"I spent many years searching the globe trying to find an answer to that very question, old man. First, I searched the microscopic world for the tiniest clues. Then, I scanned the vast regions of the universe, and still nothing. Other than one stone tablet buried beneath the sands of Egypt, there were no record of the existence of these dragons. Then, it dawned on me. What if these dragons aren't dragons at all? What if they are humans?"

Shocked, Grandpa asked, "Humans?! But how is that possible, Pegasus? And what that have to do with this mystery card you gave to the pharaoh?"

Scowling, Pegasus gave the answer, "During the battle of Atlantis, Dartz transformed three brave knights into dragons in an effort to weaken them. Now, the pharaoh must restore them to their original form, before we disappear forever!"

"Why do I feel that there is even more to the story, Pegasus?" Grandpa asked.

Sighing, Pegasus answered, "There is. It seems that another character was fighting alongside the dragons in another battle, other than the battle of Atlantis. But, the problem is that I can't figure out what that character is, what its connection is to the dragons, or when the other battle took place. All we can do is hope that whatever that character is, it will come to the pharaoh's and the knights' aid when they need it.

 _*******Sceneswitch******_

(With Yami and Dartz (at last))

Yami was trying his utmost best in an effort to break through to Dartz, but realised that the only way he will be able to stop the war Dartz started, was to defeat him and the only way to defeat Dartz, was to win an almost impossible duel.

Drawing Obnoxious Celtic Guardian(ATK1400, DEF 1200) in defence mode and placing a facedown card, Yami thought that the only thing he could do was to stall Dartz until he the draws the right card.

Dartz's turn started, and because of the third layer of the Oricalcos, his lifepoints increased to 20 000. Taunting the pharaoh again, he commanded Oricalcos Dexia to attack Celtic Guardian. Luckily, Yami's facedown trap was able to defend the Celtic Guardian, lowering Schuneros' points to 15 700.

Smirking evilly, Dartz decided that it is time to start brainwash Yami: "Not bad," he taunted, but what's the point? Just look around you. You're all alone. Your friends are no longer able to support you, and the scoreboard doesn't exactly count in your favour, now does it? So why drag out all this torment, when all you have to do is forfeit? Accept your destiny and join your friends on the other side."

"Maybe he's right." Yami thought, "He does have 20 000 life points and three indestructible monsters. Perhaps I can do more for my friends by surrendering and allowing the Oricalcos to take me where they are."

With the brainwashing starting to work, Yami was unable to feel the presence of a transparent woman, who was invisible to Dartz, appearing at his side. Frowning, the woman realised, that if she doesn't do something soon, all will be lost. Burying the anger she feels towards Dartz, she turned to the pharaoh and started chanting a spell.

Meanwhile, Dartz's endless taunting continued. "Don't you want to be by their side? Your friends are completely lost without you. Don't turn away! All you have to do is place your hand on your duel disk and submit. Declare defeat and you'll be free! Free to see your friends one last time before the rise of the beast! It's about time to accept your TRUE destiny. You have returned to Earth to right the wrongs you once committed!"

"C'mon, Pharaoh, don't fall for his stupid lies!" The girl whispered as she watched how Yami started to lower his hand in order to surrender. 'Just a few more seconds and the spell will kick in' she thought. "Fight, Pharaoh! Fight it. You're better than this." She silently pleaded.

"Give in and join your friends." Dartz encouraged.

'It's time' the girl thought, stood on her toes and pressed a kiss on Yami's cheek. 'Come back, Pharaoh!'

Mana's spell was taking effect and started to show Yami various visions:

 _Flashback 1_

" _You are probably going to hate me for this, my pharaoh, but I promised your father that I will gladly sacrifice myself if that means keeping you alive." a voice of a woman echoed in his head."_

 _Flashback 2_

" _It converts every one of my dragon's attack points into your life points, Yugi." Seto said, panting heavily._

 _Flashback 3_

" _I'm going." Yugi's determined voice declared._

 _Standing up, Joey asked "You sure?"_

" _Yes," Yugi answered._

" _I'll be right there by your side, pall! So let's go do this" Joey cheered._

 _Flashback 4_

 _Three dragons faded, revealing a tablet of a smiling girl_

 _Flashback 5_

" _It only needs one of us, so I'm letting the seal take me instead." Yugi told the pharaoh._

" _No! Yugi!" the pharaoh shouted._

 _Flash 6_

 _Kaiba falls._

 _Flash 7_

 _Joey falls._

As Yami fought, the girl noticed that a tear streaked down Yami's cheek. Smiling , she nodded and turned towards Dartz and frowned.

"The time has come." Dartz said with a malacing smile. "Farewell. Sacred seal, encircle the pharaoh."

As the seal started to shrink around the pharaoh, the tear that was running down his cheek, fell on his millennium puzzle, activating the final level of the spell the woman cast. A golden ring of protection formed around the pharaoh and forcefully pushed the seal back.

Smiling widely, the woman faded.

 _******Sceneswitch******_

(In the world of the duel monsters)

"What's this? The statuette of the Scorned Lady is cracking!" the shocked Dark Magician Girl said.

 _******Sceneswitch*****_

"The time has come, Mana. Are you ready to help the pharaoh put away this evil for once and for all?" Slifer asked.

"Never mind being ready, will you be strong enough to withstand that man. Remember our cards had been stolen from the pharaoh. We won't be able to help you until the pharaoh has the upper hand." Ra interjected.

"I am as ready as I will ever be." Mana answered with conviction, showing a fire burning in her eyes.

"Very well, Mana, as before, we will have faith in you." Obelisk told the girl.

******* _Sceneswitch******_

"You should have lost the duel!" Dartz sneered as he saw Yami's friends spiritually appear and surround him. "What's going on?"

"You forced me to gaze into my heart, thinking I would find only darkness, but you were wrong!" Yami answered calmly.

"Then you gazed in the wrong place!" Dartz called out, slightly panicking.

"Look," Yami started, "believe what you wish, but I know the truth. My heart is filled with light of friendship and no magic can take that away, no matter how strong it is. So thank you, you reminded me that my friends are always with me. And we're going to win this fight and take you down together!" Pointing his finger at Dartz, Yami yelled, "Dartz, it all ends right now!" and with that, he drew his card.

TBC


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 _******Previously*******_

" _Look," Yami started, "believe what you wish, but I know the truth. My heart is filled with light of friendship and no magic can take that away, no matter how strong it is. So thank you, you reminded me that my friends are always with me. And we're going to win this fight and take you down together!" Pointing his finger at Dartz, Yami yelled, "Dartz, it all ends right now!" and with that, he drew his card._

*******On with the story********

Instantly realising that it was the card Pegasus gave him, he knew that the duel was quickly nearing its end.

"Well," Dartz called impatiently, "get on with it!"

"Do you know what's in my hand? The key to unlocking the secret of the Legendary Dragons!" Yami yelled.

"WHAT?" Dartz yelled, panicking.

"You heard me!" Yami countered. "Legend of heart."

With announcing the card's name, the card turned ablaze and the fire started to grow.

"I give up 1000 of my life points and remove my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian from the field." Yami said, while doing so. Almost immediately after doing so, the Legendary Dragon's cards appeared on the field. "This lets me to summon Critius, Hermos and Timeous in their true forms."

Roaring, all three dragons flew into the clouds.

Echoing from the clouds, Yami was stunned to hear the voice of a man: "Finally, after 10 millenia in captivity, we have been set free!"

"No," Dartz said horrified, "not them!"

Thunder came and struck right in front of Yami, forcing him to close his eyes. When he opened it again, he saw three knights. One of them was wearing a blue armor, another a red armor, and another one with a turquoise armor.

Drawing their swords, the one clad in turquoise introduced himself as Timeous, the one in blue as Sir Critius and the one in red as Sir Hermos.

"I thought I took care of you centuries ago!" Dartz yelled, unable to believe that his worst enemies have been freed and are ready to strike him down at any moment.

Hitting their swords on the ground, a charge on energy ran to each layer of the Oricalcos, instantly destroying each seal, except for the pink-purple one that had sprung from Mokubah, instantly weakening Dartz's Schuneros, Dexia and Oristeros

"What have you done?!" Dartz yelled; his voice filled with hate and unbelief, "My precious seal is gone!"

"Your reign of darkness is useless in our presence!" Hermos said with an authoritive voice.

"Did you forget our last encounter?" Critius asked with disdain.

"I most certainly did not," Timeous said, while pointing his thumb at an eye that was closed and had a slash mark through it, "and I have multiple scores to settle with you."

(THE FIGHT follows THE ORIGINAL STORY LINE UP TO THE POINT WHERE SCHUNEROS WAS DEFEATED, AND THE LIZARD KNOWN AS "divine serpent" WAS SUMMONED)

After completing the requirements of giving up every life point and all the cards he had in his hand, Dartz explained that as long as the divine serpent remains on the field, Dartz was still able to continue the duel, but if Yami was able to defeat it, Yami wins.

After hearing the explanation, Yami was flabbergasted when he saw that the divine serpent 's attack point was infinite.(∞)

Drawing a card and seeing that it was Dark Magician girl, Yami remembered the promise he made to her. Placing a card face-down, he ended his turn.

Placing ten cards directly in the graveyard, Dartz ordered the divine serpent to destroy one of the knigts. Doing as it was commanded, the divine serpent opened its mouth and attacked Timeous, destroying him and depleting Yami of every life point he had left.

Thinking that the duel was over, an Oricalcos seal appeared, and attempted to take hold of the pharaoh, but merely seconds after it appeared, it was destroyed.

Shocked Dartz demanded, "Tell me, how did you survive?"

"It's simple," Yami explained, "you told me to play a card, so I did. It's a powerful trap known as relay soul. When my lifepoints reach 0, it allowed me to stay in the game by summoning my Dark Magician Girl(ATK 2000, DEF 1700) and putting my fate in her hands. So you and I are in the same situation now, each of us has one monster. You have your serpent, and I have Dark Magician Girl. When one is destroyed, the card holder will lose."

Playing a card, Dartz tried to frazzle Yami and continue his endless taunting; Dartz played the spell card known as Impact revive, and brought Timeous back to the field so that he (Dartz) could destroy him (Timeous) again in the same turn.

Sending 10 cards to the grave yard, Dartz ordered his monster to attack again.

 _*****Scene Switch*****_

 _In the realm of the duel monsters_

Since Dark Magician Girl was summoned, no one was present to see the statuette, which was standing on central pedestal; shatter in thousand little pieces and a pink-purplish light shoot out.

 _****SceneSwitch****_

 _Back to the duel_

"Say goodbye, Pharaoh, this duel is over!" Dartz yelled as his serpent's attack was sent straight at Dark Magician Girl

'Oh no, it can't end like thi-' Yami thought when an angel-like voice cut him off.

"Not if I can help it!" the voice rang through the room.

When the smoke the serpent's attack left, was finally cleared out, everyone was stunned to see a young woman, who could pass for Dark Magician Girl's twin, stand in front of the kneeling mage. The girl had messy brown hair, and was clad in a purple armor and had a ruby necklace around her neck.

"It's you!" Dartz yelled amazed.

"Una!" Yami yelled, also unable to believe his eyes.

"Little Mana! You're back!" Timeous called out, both shock and joy in his voice.

"Yes, Timeous, I am finally freed from my confinement." The girl said with a smile before continuing, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Mana, though most know me by the name of Scorned Lady."

"How were able to appear just like that? How were you summoned in my turn?!" Dartz commanded.

"It's an unknown condition;" the girl, now identified as Mana, explained "I may only appear on the field during the second turn of the opponent after the Legendary Knights were freed. Also, when you attacked Dark Magician Girl like that, a special ability of mine activated and I was able to step in front of her and absorb the attack. And now, since I've absorbed it, I am able to reflect it right back at your snake friend over there."

While sending the serpent's attack back at it, Mana continued her explanation, "Unfortunately, I can't destroy it, but when the reflection hits, the target's attack points is cut in half for the rest of the game, and it's player's turn is automatically ended. Pharaoh, it is time to make your move."

(A.N. SINCE THE SNAKE'S ATTACK POINTS IS SUPPOSED TO BE INFINITE, I'M GOING TO SAY THAT THE INFINITE IS EQUAL TO 100 000. THEREFORE, SINCE IT IS CUT IN HALF THANKS TO MANA'S ABILITY, IT IS NOW REDUCED TO 50 000.)

After drawing his card and seeing what it is, Yami smirked, "Well, so much for infinite strength! Lesson 1: attack points don't mean everything."

Ignoring Dartz's banter, Yami pleaded the heart of the cards to guide him before issuing his order.

"Critius and Hermos, prepare to attack. Take down his divine serpent!"

Activating, his Sword of Wisdom, Critius struck his sword in the snakes head. Seconds afterwards, Hermos activated his Sword of Renewal and also struck his sword in the snakes head.

Activating his special ability, Critius absorbed Yami's Attack guidance barrier, allowing him to direct his attack to Hermos. Hermos, who absorbed Yami's three magnet warriors, activated his special ability, tripled Critius' attack, causing the attack to be sent back to Critius, strengthening the attack until it reached infitite strength

"So?" Dartz questioned, "That attack is stuck in an endless loop!"

"Hold on," Yami countered, "I'm not done yet! I still have two knights left! Mana, merge together with Timeous, Critius and Hermos!"

After issuing his order, Yami addressed Dartz, "Your divine serpent's strength may have been infinite, but it is still not enough, for now there is a force beyond infinity! My Lady Destiny _._ "

Mana, in an armor of pure gold, which completery covered her upper body, with a protective skirt that reached just below her knees, appeared on the field and drew her sword gracefully.

"A power greater than my divine serpent?" Dartz asked, "Impossible!"

"It might have been impossible before, Dartz," Mana answered calmly, "but now that I have merged with the Legendary Knights, my other special ability activates. See this purple ring around us? When successfully merged, I can absorb its power, causing my attack points to double, meaning that right now, I have double infinite strength!" (2∞)

"Lady Destiny, attack Dartz's reptile with Sword of Justice!" Yami commanded.

Gathering her strength in the sword, Lady Destiny slashed her sword right through the attacking serpent, thus ending the duel…

TBC


	14. Chapter 13

Just a reminder: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Thank you, reviewers, for your comments!

Chapter 13

 _Previously on Scorned Lady_

" _Lady Destiny_ _, attack Dartz's reptile with Sword of Justice!" Yami commanded._

 _Gathering her strength in the sword,_ _Lady Destiny_ _slashed her sword right through the attacking serpent, thus ending the duel…_

 _On with the story_

"Now release everyone you have held captive, Dartz." Yami demanded of Dartz while Lady Destiny split into their normal forms of Critius, Hermos, Timeous, and Mana.

Balling his fists, Dartz closed his eyes and snarled with malice.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking and a snake, other than divine serpent, came out of a swirling vortex, swallowed Dartz and disappeared through the vortex.

 _*****Sceneswitch*****_

 _Outside Dartz's Temple_

"I hope Mr Kaiba is alright in there!" One of Kaiba's bodyguards said nervously.

"I hope we're alright out here!" Roland replied.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake and tremble.

"Now what's going on?" the first bodyguard asked with a trembling voice.

Turning around, the bodyguards were shocked to see a beam of light coming out of a whirlpool.

"It's a cyclone!" Roland said shocked, feeling how fear was slowly settling in his stomach.

"What on Earth is going on out here?" Mai demanded, emerging out of the helicopter, trying to determine the source of all the trembling, before turning around to see the cyclone forming, paling, and retreating back into the chopper.

 _*****Sceneswitch*****_

 _Back with Yami and the others_

Mana turned to Timeous and asked, "Timeous, would you be so kind as to activate your Sword of Awakening? I think it is high time for the chosen duelists to awaken from their long slumber."

Activating his sword, Timeous called out, "Chosen duelists, by the powers of Atlantis, awaken from your slumber!"

Instantly, the chosen duelists reacted and the Atlantian knights, excluding Mana, faded away.

 _*****Sceneswitch*****_

 _With Joey_

Waking up, Joey sat up, only to be tackled down by Mai who was shedding tears of happiness.

"Mai, what's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?" Joey rambled, looking around, trying to remember what happened. Unfortunately for him, everything was fuzzy _._

"What? I'm Mai again? Whatever happened to Harpie?" Mai asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"O…um…I um…the duel…and um… the stone" poor Joey stuttered, feeling how his face warm up.

After leaning in and kissing away the boy's stuttering, Mai sat back and told him with a tender smile, "I like the idea of being your Harpie. And just for the record Joey, while you were unconscious or sleeping or whatever, I've been doing some thinking."

Getting comfortable next to Joey, she started explaining: "As you know, my whole life long, my family constantly moved around, never setting down some roots, causing that I never had been able to make any friends. As I grew up, I hardened, thinking that if I keep moving, never staying long enough to make friends, I wouldn't be so hurt so easily when my supposed friends abandoned me. That's why I was so brash and feisty when we first met. But you and your friends were so different than I thought you would be, causing me to soften up and let you lot in, especially you, since you made so much extra effort to be my friend. But, when Malik sent me to that place, he kept on showing me what I feared most, being abandoned by you and my friends. After being freed, I thought I would be okay and that everything would just blow over, but then I started having flashbacks and nightmares of the Shadow Realm. At first, I brushed it off, but it started getting worse and it was at that moment when I was at my lowest that Valen approached me and promised me the false power. The only thing he didn't know is that it was still you guys were still constantly on my mind, especially you. But I didn't realize until you sacrificed yourself for me that I…."

Leaning over to his ear, Mai whispered in his ear, "I love you to, Swordsman. Thank you for always being there for me when I need you most." and kissed him again, this time receiving a loving response from Joey.

 _*****Sceneswitch*****_

 _Yami and the rest of the gang_

Yami felt Yugi's soulroom's door open shortly afterwards, Yugi appeared beside him transparently.

Happily, Yami addressed his newly reawakened friend, "Yugi, the legendary knights have set you free!"

"Does that mean you beat Dartz?" Yugi asked hopefully.

"Yes," Yami answered, "but as soon as our duel ended, he disappeared into some vortex and I have a feeling the worst is yet to come, but at least we'll face it together."

After greeting the rest of the gang, as well as Joey and Mai, who also joined them, Yugi saw Mana approach Mokuba.

"Are you alright, Moka? You're not hurt, are you?" she asked concerned.

"M-M-Moka? Did you just call me Moka? Only one person called me that, and that was my nanny. Mana? Is that really you? What happened to you? Where did you go?" he demanded.

"Yes, Moka, it's me. And don't you remember why I left? I told you that I had to go save your parents. Before I left, you gave me that stone that protected you today. You said that everytime I look at it, I must remember that I'm loved as the big sister you didn't have."

"So that's why you looked so familiar?" Mokuba asked as tears started to roll down his cheeks as he flung himself in her arms.

"That's right, but your parents were in greater danger than I originally thought, so after I saved them, I was too weak to return to you. Will you forgive me for breaking my promise to you?" Mana pleaded anxiously.

Hugging her tightly, Mokuba whispered in her ear, "There is nothing to forgive. Welcome back, Mana."

"Thank you, Mokuba, for understanding. I think there are two very anxious people who would like to see their little boys again." Mana said with a loving smile.

"Alright," Kaiba sneered, "that's enough of your lies! Our folks are dead! Don't you dare…" but was interrupted before being able to finish the sentence.

"Seto! Where are your manners?!" A feminine voice cut him off. Turning towards the voice, everyone was astounded to see a blue-eyed woman with wavy brown hair in a firefighting uniform along with a dark-haired brown-eyed man, who stood fiercely at the woman's side, also wearing a fire-fighting uniform.

"Is this the way you thank the girl who not only saved me and your father, but also your and your brother's lives?" The woman, now identified as the Kaiba brother's biological mother, continued. "I don't care how old you are, when we get home, you are going to write out 'Be thankful to those who save innocent's lives' at least a 100 times!"

Sweat dropping, everyone in the room, apart from Kaiba's father, thought 'Note to self: never anger Kaiba's mother. She's scary.'

Mokuba, not caring that his brother was getting a well-deserved scolding, ran up to his parents, and enveloped them in a hug.

"Aren't you going to greet your parents after 13 years of forced absence, Seto?" Kaiba's father asked. Within seconds, Seto crushed his parents in a hug, completely forgetting to keep up the cold exterior he had projected to the world.

Watching Mana, who was looking at Mokuba tenderly, Yami couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over him, wanting her to look at him with the same tenderness, but subconsciously knowing that she never will always look at him with disappointment etched on her face.

Feeling Yami's eyes on her, Mana turned towards Yami, slowly approaching him.

"Well, well, well, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Pharoah." She said with a little bit of venom in her voice.

"Wait, what do you mean by saying 'so soon'? Do we know each other?" Yami asked bewildered.

"We were childhood friends. We grew up together. Surprise!" Mana answered with a sarcastic smirk.


	15. Chapter 14

For my faithful reviewer: Sailing on a Notebook

Note: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 14

 _Previously_

" _Well, well, well, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Pharoah" she said with a little venom in her voice._

" _Wait, what do you mean by saying 'so soon'? Do we know each other?" Yami asked bewildered._

" _We were childhood friends. We grew up together. Surprise!" Mana answered with a sarcastic smirk._

 _Presently_

"How is this possible? What do you mean-" Yami questioned Mana, but was cut off when Roland stormed into the temple.

"Mr Kaiba, come outside!" He yelled.

Everyone ran outside to see what's going on, but halfway there, Mana, who was following the others, came to an adrupt halt and slowly turned around and approached a statue of three snake heads.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(with the folks outside the temple)_

Once outside, the group saw an island rising from the sea into the air.

"Look!" Mokubah called out astonished.

"O, great!" Kaiba sneered sarcastically.

"What's that?" Some of the others called out.

"Whatever it is, it's huge!" Joey commented.

"O no! Don't tell me! It's Atlantis!" Teá called out astonished.

"I guess that means that Dartz is out there and is still not going to give up!" Yugi said "Let's just hope that he's alone guys."

"D'you meant that he could have woken up that leviathan thing?" Joey, who earlier joined the gang inside the building, along with Mai, asked, subconsciously reaching out for Mai protectively.

"Is that the giant monster he kept talking about?" Mokubah asked, watching the city that was still rising into the air.

"Yup," Joey answered, holding Mai in his arms, "and from what I've learnt, it ain't pretty!"

"I don't know what the deal is, but I'm going up there to find out." Kaiba said with determination in his voice, turns around, and re-enters the temple.

Pecking Mai's cheek, Joey turned and followed Kaiba, with Yugi shortly on his heels.

Back in the temple, the three saw Mana in front of a statue. Suddenly, Yugi's puzzle lit up. Going over to Mana, Yugi saw that, a god card lay in each of the snake's mouths.

"Hey, look! It's the god cards!" Yugi said and picked them up. Picking them up, Yugi said happily, "They're back where they belong!"

"Yes, but they're powerless now." Yami commented. "Dartz must have given his energy to his leviathan."

"How dare he! How dare he mess with the gods!" Mana raged, turned around, and ran into the adjacent chamber."

"Mana, wait! Ugh! You had better hurry after her, Yugi. She was so angry, right now that I'm afraid she might do something reckless." Yami said worried.

"Protective, aren't we?" Yugi teased his ancient friend, but ran after Mana into the vortex, with Kaiba and Joey shortly on his heels.

Once there, Yami (who switched with Yugi), Kaiba, Joey and Mana set out, searching for Dartz. It didn't take long to find him, but upon seeing him, they knew that the Dartz they found was only a corpse.

"Okay, does someone want to fill me in here?" Joey asked confused.

"Dartz must somehow have left his body behind." Yami mused.

"Please," Kaiba said snarkily, "it's just another one of his cheap tricks."

"Is that your answer to everything, Kaiba? You really need a new catchphrase!" Dartz taunted.

"Where are you?" Yami asked, looking around.

An image of Dartz appeared, Dartz grinning like a madman. "I'm here with the leviathan."

"Hold on, Dartz, you said that the leviathan couldn't awaken without the three chosen duelists' souls!" Yami shouted.

"He must have substituted it with equally powerful one: his own." Mana said with a scowl.

"Bingo!" Dartz answered with glee.

Within seconds, a gigantic black snake emerged from the sea and curled its body around the floating city before disentangling itself and floating into the air with a menacing roar.

"Hold on," Joey said distractedly, "what's that little green pimple on that thing's nose?"

After realising what, or rather who it was, Mana said something that shocked her companions: "Oh, you poor pawn! That lizard is only using you!"

After the leviathan unsuccessfully tried to scare the three duelists, Yami, Kaiba and Joey summoned their monsters, along with the Atlantian dragons, which Yami again freed, allowing them to fight Dartz in their true forms.

After the newly summoned monsters attacked, and the dust cleared, the gang was shocked to see that the snake didn't even have a scratch.

"That makes no sense!" Kaiba yelled.

"It gets worse!" Joey commented with a slightly quivering voice, "Cause I think it's that thing's turn!"

Joey was right. Rearing its head, the snake attacked and would have made killed them all if it weren't for Yami's quick thinking and activating Timeous' special affect by sacrificing Big shield Gardna to protect them. The defence worked, but only partially, because all the monsters, apart from the knights, were destroyed.

"Oh, No. Look, that snake is getting for another attack. Brace yourselves!" said a panicky Joey.

The snake was about to attack, when suddenly the sky lit up with lights, like the aurora lights in Antarctica. It was the gateway to the universe of the duel monsters, opening up and letting the duel spirits out. Each one of the spirits taking a stance, preparing their attack.

Summoning more monsters, Kaiba, Yami and Joey sent their monsters to attack the lizard along with the monsters who came through the gate. Just when they thought they that the end was in sight, they had to discover that, again, their monsters didn't do a thing, and again, the snake wiped the floor with the summons.

"It's not over yet," Joey said with a little relief, "that thing still has to get past our knights!"

The words hardly left Joey's mouth, when the leviathan attacked again, this time attacking the knights directly.

"AAAAARRGGGHHHH!" a feminine voice rang out. Instantly, Yami knew two things. One: That was Mana's voice and two: in his battle with Dartz, he had completely forgotten about her.

When the lights of Dartz's attack died out, Yami was shocked to see her in front of the three knights and that, once again, Timeous was at her side, helping her up where she was kneeling on the ground. He didn't even have time to ponder on the envy he felt in his heart, when Dark Magician Girl came down.

"Mistress," the distressed magician called out, "are you alright? What happened?"

"I have the ability to absorb the enemy's attacks, remember? But, after each attack I absorb or repel, I am forced to wait a certain amount of time before I am able to use any magic, whether it is the magic I repel or my own. The stronger the attack, the longer it takes for me to be able to use any magic." Mana, who was still holding onto Timeous, explained.

"How dare you interfere, you insolent little girl!" Dartz shouted enraged. "This has nothing to do with you, so why don't you make it easy for yourself and just go home?"

"Home?! HOME?! I HAVE NO HOME YOU OVERGROWN PAWN! BECAUSE OF YOUR REPTILE AND THOSE BLOODY EGYPTIANS, I WAS FORCED TO GIVE UP THE PLACE I CALLED HOME 5000 YEARS AGO!" Mana shouted with rage, shocking everyone apart from the Atlantian knights, especially Yami.

'What could have happened back then to make her hate us? I thought she said that she and I were childhood friends. When she blamed the Egyptians, did she also mean me? If I could only remember!" Yami thought to himself.

"You have a large mouth on you girl, but don't worry," Dartz said as black slime grabbed the four of them and started to pull them towards stomach of the beast, "I won't punish you alone, your little friends will be joining you here, in the belly of the beast!"

While Dartz and the others were bickering, Mana looked down towards the knights and nodded slightly. Within seconds, they retreated, each hiding behind a pillar of the pavilion.

Directing her attention towards the other three, Mana saw that each of them was sinking. Knowing that the absorbed attack wasn't concentrated enough to blast them out of the lizard yet, she realized that all she could do was hope that Yugi, Yami's friend, will be able to help them.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _With Yami_

 _Yami POV_

Seeing my friends sinking into the beast's belly, I could feel despair rising in me. If only I could save them. As hard as I tried to break loose to get to Mana who was the furthest away from us, it was of no use. Mana was the first to disappear, then Joey, and then Kaiba. Then the thing started to pull me in.

"Pharaoh! Mistress Mana!" I heard Dark Magician Girl call to us, before sinking completely, apart from my hand and duel disk.

Suddenly Yugi appeared next to me. "Pharaoh," he said, "there might be a way to fight back."

"But how?" I asked, wanting to believe that there is a way out, but not seeing anything promising.

"Well," Yugi replied, "I was thinking, if we can hear the people trapped inside, maybe, they can hear us! Anyway, it's worth a shot!"

Thankful that Yugi could think of something so simple that might still work, I immediately started to reach everyone taken captive.

 _Mana POV_

As I was sinking further into the beast's belly, I could hear the pleas of help increase.

'The attack I absorbed earlier is almost fully concentrated, but I'm not sure whether it will be strong enough to blast an opening big enough to set everyone free. But it looks that I have no choice. I have to free the pharaoh so that he can defeat this thing. It's most likely that I won't survive this battle, especially after fulfilling my promise to the others, but it would still be worth it.'

I was just about to release the absorbed attack when the Pharaoh's voice suddenly rang through my head: "Everyone, listen. Each one of us is a glimmer of light in this sea of shadows. Alone, we might seem insignificant, but combined together, we radiate enough energy to conquer the darkness! Now, please, if you can hear me, focus on the light in your heart. It's the only way to save ourselves. Think of those you care about. Remember those who have helped you…"

The Pharaoh kept on encouraging the "prisoners," but his words already reached me and convinced me and reminded me of the days when the Pharaoh's father who secretly took me in after my parent's untimely demise.

 _Yami POV_

The light of each "prisoner" was sent from all over the beast and entered my duel disk and it didn't take long, before the light of the duel monsters my duel disk as well.

"My strength," Joey said, "take it, before I lose it all for good!" and sent his light to me.

"Take mine as well." Kaiba said and threw his light to me while shouting, "And don't screw this up, Yugi!"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I heard Mana say with a slight scorn, "but here." And gave me her light as well.

 _3_ _rd_ _person POV_

"What's going on?" Dartz demanded, "My control is slipping! No!"

 _Mana POV_

'It's working! The Pharoah's words encouraged each and every one of them! With the power he was given from the others, he will be able to blast him and the other two free by himself. That means that I can use my attack the weaken this thing without any drawbacks'

 _3_ _rd_ _person POV_

Suddenly, Yami's voice rang out, commandingly: "In the name of the Pharaoh, awaken from your ancient slumber!"

Three beams broke through the beast's skin, and soon afterwards, Yami said: "Now I call forth, the three gods of Egypt!"

As soon as the three chosen duelists were set free, Mana released her attack, causing the lizard's stomach to completely split open.

As soon as Mana's feet touched the ground, the three gods appeared. Threatened, Dartz and the snake fled into the clouds. But the gods weren't going to let Dartz get away with his sick game, and therefore followed Dartz into the clouds.

"The gods may need my help." Yami said and switched with Yugi and follows the gods.

"Hey!" Mana yelled, "Where d'you think you're going! This is my battle as well, you know! C'mon, Knight of Destiny, let's settle an old score!" Mana yelled and flew into the air with Knight of Destiny at her side.

(A.N. Mana released the blast from the attack she absorbed earlier, and is therefore using her own power now. Although she is supposed to rest after using repelling an attack like that, she can use her own magic immediately afterwards, but the after effects are dire.)

Once they were above the clouds, Mana approached Yami.

"Listen, I know of a way that will destroy that overgrown lizard in mere seconds. But I need you to trust me completely. Let the Knight of Destiny attack first, and then, when the attack has gained some distance, let the gods attack. The gods' attack will quickly catch up with the Knight of Destiny's. Once their attack has completely merged, I will add my attack."

"Very well, Mana," Yami answered, "I shall heed your advice, but please heed mine when I say: be careful." Earning a nod from Mana she flew away.

The lizard readied and then released its attack, but Yami was quick to counter: "Knight of Destiny, attack!" The Knight of Destiny obeyed and attacked.

Once the attack has gained some distance, Yami thought silently, 'I hope Mana's plan works!'

After the Knight of Destiny's attack gained enough distance, Yami ordered the gods: "Obelisk, Fist of Fury! Slifer, Thunder Poise attack! Ra, ignite your mighty Blaze Cannon!" The three gods charged their attacks.

"Attack!" Yami yelled.

The gods attacked simultaneously. Their attack caught up with Knight of Destiny's attack, merged with it and charged forward. Then, all of a sudden, Mana jumped in front of the attack, with her back facing it, arms and legs spread widely. Shocked, Yami saw the attack go through Mana and intensify, as if her body was acting like a magnifying glass. The merged attack, which was now twice its original size, hit the weakened leviathan's attack. (Remember, when Mana attaked the snake from within its belly, it was weakened tremendously.)

When the two attacks hit each other, it lit up the sky, gaining the attention of observers miles away.

Strengthening his attack, Dartz told Yami with confidence: "My beast is fuelled by the darkness of my prisoners!"

"Wrong, Dartz! I was able to transform the darkness in their hearts to light! A light which now fuels my beasts!" Yami countered, allowing his beasts to attack to double in strength and quadrupling it when it goes through Mana, easily overpowering the leviathan.

"No! What have you done, Pharaoh!" Dartz yelled out enraged as the attack hit his monster. Within seconds after being hit, Dartz lost complete control of his monster, allowing his prisoners to escape by the thousands, and the overgrown lizard to blow up and slowly fall back into the dark depths of the sea.

Reaching out to Pegasus, Mr Moto asked: "Wake up, son. It's over. They did it."

Opening his eyes, Pagasus looked down to the three duelists before looking up and seeing the Pharaoh descending, supporting a fragile-looking woman, while scolding her for not listening to him.

"They truly did, old man, they truly did." Pegasus agreed before greeting Mr Moto and starting his journey home and remembering the girl and vowing to himself to do more research of the girl who came to everyone's rescue, even the Pharaoh's.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After helping Mana down to the others and going back in the puzzle, the guys started to run back to the portal, because the unsteady Atlantis was beginning to fall. Yugi, who was helping Mana back to the portal, was greatly slowed down. They were about to enter the portal when the pharaoh stopped Yugi.

 _Yugi POV_

We were about to enter the portal when the Yami stopped me. Turning towards him, I asked: "What's wrong?"

"Don't you sense it?" Yami asked. "We can't leave yet."

Suddenly, out of thin air, a wounded Dartz appeared, black smoke coming from his body. "I couldn't say goodbye just yet."

The words hardly left his mouth when our lizard friend again made an appearance.

"Alright," I heard Yami say, "There is only one thing to do, Yugi. Timeous!"

Timeous appeared and attacked, but the lizard's tail caught him and left a fatal wound.

"No, Timeous!" Mana and I called out before Yami ordered Timeous to return to his deck.

Timeous left, returning to our deck, leaving us wide open.

 _3_ _rd_ _person POV_

"Now what are we going to do?" Yugi asked Yami.

"We fight, somehow." Yami answered, determined.

"But you've tried everything, and nothing seems to work." Mana, who was finally strong enough to stand on her own, retorted.

"So you've come to your senses and given up?" Dartz asked.

"Wrong, Dartz!"

"Haven't you figured it out yet? All the monsters in the world couldn't destroy my leviathan!"

"Why is that?" Yami asked

"Tell us." Yugi demanded

"Because this creature isn't one of your little duel monsters, it was born from the darkness of a human soul." Dartz answered.

"And what does that mean?" Yami demanded.

"Tell us!" Yugi demanded

"Is that all you can say, you insignificant little runt?" Dartz demanded angrily. "What I mean is, the leviathan was created by the hatred and rage of humans! So as long as mankind exists, so does the leviathan!"

After giving his answer, Dartz disappeared into the snake of smoke and slowly slithered closer to the trio.

"Yugi, Mana, run, now and leave these two to me." Yami commanded.

"There is no way that I'm going." Yugi replied with determination. 'We started this together and we're going to fight together until the very end!' he told Yami in his mind.

"I never listened to you when we were younger. What makes you think that I'm going to listen to you now? I was the one who sealed that eyesore the first time, remember? It's my duty to see this through until the very end." Mana voiced her opinion.

Nodding, Yami began his verbal war with the brainwashed Atlantian King: "You've got it all wrong, Dartz. That creature was created by the Oricalcos. You are lied to, brainwashed into believing that mankind must be destroyed. But human beings aren't the evil ones; it's you. Think Dartz, when you ruled Atlantis, all your people were generous and peaceful, but then the Oricalcos stone arrived and everything changed. Those fragments carry with them an evil force. They brought chaos and hatred to paradise."

"He's right, you know," Mana encouraged, "your wife, queen Iona, was always a sentsitive one to what goes on in other's hearts. At first, she was alright, because the little amount that was affected were outweighed by those who were unaffected. But, when the stone started its brainwashing on you, it affected her immediately, and turned her into a monster. In other words Dartz, it wasn't the darkness in her heart that turned her into a monster; it was the darkness in yours."

"Face it, Dartz," Yugi added his two cents to the argument, "the Oricalcos is using you to do his dirty work!"

"But you're never going to see that." Yami said as he stepped forward, "So, if you want to wipe out mankind, you will have to go through me!"

The words had barely left Yami's mouth when the snake hurled forward and swallowed Yami, instantly putting him in a great amount of pain.

"No, Pharaoh!" Yugi cried out to his friend.

"You idiot!" Mana screamed as she and Yugi started to run towards him, "Have you gone completely insane?!"

The smoke snake lost its form and created a black tornado and kept the already hurting its prisoner, causing the pharaoh to cry out in pain.

Along with the pharaoh's pained cry, Mana and Yugi could hear the satisfied voice of Dartz saying: "Farewell, Pharaoh."

"Let him go!" Mana and Yugi demanded, running even nearer to the pharaoh in order to push or pull him out.

Turning towards the others, Yami commanded, "No, get back! This is my fight now! I must prove that my rage is gone!"

"What is he talking about, Yugi?" Mana asked Yugi.

Realising that she wasn't on the scene yet, Yugi explained. "I think he's talking about the Oricalcos card that was slipped into our deck and caused him to lose control."

"When I played that card, I unlocked the evil in my heart. Ever since then, I've been fighting the anger within me. And now, its destroying me." Yami said, trying to catch his breath.

'Too much time has passed since when we were children. I don't know how to comfort him anymore. I'm still too angry at him to be able to help him this time.' Mana thought as her she watched her once best friend, suffering in pain.

"Pharaoh, be strong! Focus on the good inside you. Think of your friends!" Yugi said in an effort to help his ancient friend.

"Of course!" Yami said with a hint of relief, "As long as I'm filled with the light of friendship, Dartz can't win! Thanks to my friends, I have enough light to banish the darkness."

Stretching his arms out sideways, Yami continued, "So with the power of everyone in my heart, I shall seal you away! Be gone!"

The smoke tornado reacted, instantly causing Yugi to worry about the pharaoh.

"Get out while you still can!" Yugi called out to the pharaoh, scared that his friend might get hurt.

Putting her hand on Yugi's shoulder, Mana told him, "Don't interfere, Yugi. We have to trust him now. I wasn't able to destroy it, so I sealed it away. The pharaoh is the only one who can bring the end to the devastating effects of the snake and the stone. It is his duty. Even I, however, admit that I didn't think he'll take this route to get rid of this eyesore."

Meanwhile, the now reformed smoke snake was vainly trying to fight back, but it was of no use. It steadily started to shrink until it was no more.

As the three stood there, the clouds began to clear and a sunny blue sky decorated the heavens.

Catching the tired pharaoh, Yugi asked him, "Are you alright?"

"Yami smiled and said, "I am fine. The black snake is gone."

"Yes it is." Mana agreed, smiling, "I have forgotten how truly powerful you are, Pharaoh. Thank you."

Looking up, the trio saw an exhausted Dartz lying on the floor. Suddenly, there was a warming light and Ironheart, Chris, and Skye appeared. After being helped up into a sitting position, Dartz was greeted with an overjoyed dog who licked him in the face with a happy whine.

"Dad, you're back." Chris said with a teary voice.

"At long last," Ironheart agreed, "And you have the pharaoh to thank for that. He drove out the evil force that controlled you."

"I knew it," Yami said with a wise smile, "deep down you're a noble ruler, Dartz."

Standing up, Ironheart stretched out his hand and said, "Your work here is now complete. You may go now in peace, great things await you. So return now to your world by stepping through that portal."

"But what about you? Are you guys going to be okay?" Yugi asked them hesitatingly.

"Yes," Ironheart said reassuringly, "for the first time in centuries."

Nodding, Yami stood up and told his friends, "Let's go, Yugi, Mana."

With Yami and Yugi in front and Mana behind them, the three approached the portal. After looking back once, Yami and Yugi entered the portal, assuming that Mana wasn't far behind, never realising that the moment they entered, Mana stopped and turned around.

Walking towards the Atlantians, Mana answered their unasked question. "It is finally time to keep my promise to all those who were taken captive by the Oricalco and send them back to their respective eras, you as well since you, Dartz, were used as a pawn, causing your family to be dragged into this as well."

"You can do that?" Chris asked with the hopeful eyes of an innocent child, who was never touched by war.

"Yes, I can." Mana said smiling, "I am going to send you back to beforethis happened, as well as wipe your memories of this whole incident with the Oricalcos. And you need not worry, the Oricalcos won't be able to cause you and your people any trouble ever again. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" The three answered instantaneously while Skye barked happily.

"I'm glad to hear that. Her majesty, Queen Iona, is waiting for you to come home." Mana said with a knowing smile.

Stretching her arms out sideways, Mana lit up with a golden light. "Captured ones," she said with a crystal clear voice, "it's time to go home."

The Atlantians felt a warming light in their hearts and started to fade away.

"Father," Dartz asked "You don't think she's the -?

"The one of the legend of the Uncrowned Queen?" Ironheart filled Dartz's question, earning a nod. "To tell you the truth, son, I have no idea, but I won't be surprised if she is."

 _Sceneswitch_

( _Raphael POV)_

We were all standing around, waiting for the others to get back when I heard Mana's voice: "Captured ones, it's time to go home."

"Whoa, Raphael, are you _fading?!_ " Mokubah asked me a few seconds later.

Looking down, I saw that I am indeed fading. 'She kept her promise. She's sending me home!'

"Yea, kid, I am. Mana made me a promise and she is simply fulfilling it now. Bye, kid take care of yourself." I said before completely fading away. 'Thank you, Mana.'

 _3_ _rd_ _person POV_

Running out of the temple, Seto shouted, "Mokubah, start the engines!"

"Seto?" Mokubah shouted inquiringly.

"We have to get out of here!" Seto said hastily.

"Without Yugi?" Téa asked affrontedly, "No way!"

"Mana isn't here either!" Mokubah stated, just as worried.

"D'you mean they're still in there?" Mai asked worriedly.

"Time's running out!" Mrs Pearson said hurriedly.

"She's right," Mr Pearson said, "we can't wait. Mr Roland, please start the engines!"

Joey and Mai tried to run back into the temple to get their friends, only to be abruptly stopped by Tristan and Téa, respectively.

"Let go of me, Tristan! I'm not leaving without Yugi."

"Nor me without Mana!" Mai added.

"Joey, Mai," Tristan reasoned, "We have to trust that they have found a way out of there on his own. Believe me, none of us want to leave them behind, but right now, we have no choice!"

Reluctantly, they got in the helicopter and left.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Mana)_

After sending everyone back to their own eras, Mana could feel the comfort of unconsciousness calling her, but knew that she had to get to safety first. She tried to open a portal, but her magic was exhausted. Sinking to the floor, she knew she has reached her limit, she was going to drown.

'Sending them back and wiping their memories took more out of me than I thought. At least the others are safe. If I have to die, I can die in peace, knowing that the snake has been stopped and those who were captured, have been saved. I have no regrets.'

Feeling someone towering over her, Mana opened her eyes, recognized the shadow's owner, and said one word before unconsciousness fully claimed her.

"Timeous."

TBC


	17. epilogue

Epilogue

 _(Somewhere on an unknown island)_

"Yugi," a feminine voice said to the beached Yugi, "wake up."

Slowly, Yugi woke up, trying to regain his bearings.

"Any idea where we are?" Yugi asked Yami after he stood up and looked around.

"It seems that we've washed up on shore." Yami answered, "But I wonder how? Someone must have guided us here."

"Hey, where is Mana? Do you think she ended up somewhere else?" Yugi asked after he noticed that said girl was nowhere in sight.

Before Yami could answer, Dark Magician Girl and the Atlantian Knights appeared along with an unconscious Mana in Timeous' arms.

"Hey, it's Dark Magician Girl!" Yugi said happily.

"And she brought with her the three legendary knights as well as Mana." Yami added.

Upon further inspection, Yami saw that the girl was unconscious. "But what's wrong with her? Is she hurt?" Yami asked with a clenching heart.

"Don't worry, Pharaoh, she is merely exhausted. After you and Yugi left through the portal, Mana returned everyone that was taken captive by Dartz to their respective eras before the time they encountered the Oricalcos, as well as wiping the memories of their encounter with the stone and afterward events." The knight reassured the pharaoh.

"We four are forever in your debt. Not only did you save your own world, but you saved the creatures of our world as well. Thanks to your fearlessness, the dominion of the beasts can once again flourish just as it did so long ago, and by breaking the evil spell that imprisoned the Legendary Knights as well as the Scorned Lady, the knights can continue to protect our land." Dark Magician Girl said thankfully.

Yugi responded with a happy smile, "I'm just glad we could help."

"Pharoah, I have a favour to ask you." Timeous stated, "Now that Mana is freed and the black reptile destroyed, she cannot live in the dominion of the beasts anymore. Will you be so kind as to take her in and take care of her?"

"Of course, Timeous" Yami responded after he switched with Yugi. Taking her from Timeous carefully, Yami's curiosity got the best of him.

"Timeous, forgive my curiosity, but why does it seem that you are so protective of Mana? And how were you able to come to her rescue when we were in the valley, while your card was with Ironheart and she with me in the duel?" he asked.

"Ah, well, that is simple. You see, she is my descendent. So when she was attacked in the valley, I was able to come to her rescue, no matter how far we were apart." Timeous answered with a smile.

"Okay," Yugi interjected, shock still clearly visible on his face, "I did not see that coming. But that does make sense, though."

"It is time we return to our world now." Dark Magician Girl said. "The time might come that we might need each other again. If so, you know where I will be, right there in your deck."

"Please take good care of her, Pharaoh." Timeous asked the pharaoh, before the the knights and Dark Magician Girl flew up into the air and disappeared."

Shortly after the duel monsters left, the Kaiba Corp helicopter landed on the shore of the island.

After laying Mana down, Yami switched with Yugi so that he could greet his friends.

After a hearty greeting, Yugi and Yami switched again so that he could pick Mana up. As the others walked to the helicopter, Yami looked down at Mana and thought: 'I don't know what happened between us that might have caused you to dislike me or my people, but know this, Mana, I will do my utmost best to become your friend again and discover what caused your anger back then. I will also find out why it hurt my heart so much when I saw you on that tablet in my vision and why I feel envious every time when you look at others and barely spare me a glance. I won't rest until I have found the answers I am looking for.'

 _Timeswitch_

 _(3 months later)_

As Mana lay in her bed after being awoken from a nasty nightmare, she thought, 'If only I could do something to help them. Each night I dream of how they were killed, one after another, and each night I can't do so much as lift a finger to help. Will I ever have any peace, or will the past always haunt me?'

As she mused, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Shortly after falling asleep, though, Mana was called to the dimension between the human and the spirit world. Once, she looked around and realised that she wasn't caught in another nightmare, she approached the Egyptian gods.

"Ah, Mana, I see that you have arrived safely." Slifer said.

"I have." Mana confirmed, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, since you have successfully completed such a difficult task, causing us to consider you our daughter, we have decided that we want to give you a reward." Obelisk answered.

"Oh?" Mana inquired, her interest piquing.

"Yes, child, but only if you want to do it. If you agree, we will send you and the pharaoh back to ancient Egypt and allow you to change the timeline with the knowledge you have gained while you were a statuette in the spirit world instead of just letting the pharaoh relive his memories." Ra explained

"I can go and save all of them? Won't that have cause a ripple effect?" Mana asked with bewilderment as her heart filled with hope and dread.

"Yes, you can go and save them. As to the ripple effect we will put in a barrier in the timeline which will be known as the Dark Ages so that whatever happens back then doesn't have any major consequences on the pharaoh's friends or anything else here. There will be slight changes in the present though, but none of them will have any major consequence. So you need not worry." Ra filled her in, smothering any fear she might have felt.

"What's the catch?" Mana asked suspiciously. 'If there is one thing I have learnt, it's that great power comes with sacrifice, usually great sacrifice' she thought to herself.

"You are, as always, very astute, Mana." Obelisk answered the ex-magician apprentice. " **If** __you are able to complete this "mission" successfully, you are to come back here, to this era and live life until the day you die. In other words, after saving your ancient companions, you are to leave them behind and come back here and live here. Also, you won't be able to commit suicide, as then we will let everything you worked for go to waste."

"Definitely a great sacrifice." Mana muttered to herself, looking down.

"Now, daughter, you aren't forced to do this, only if you want to." Slifer reminded the girl with a supportive smile.

"When do we start?" Mana asked and looked the three gods directly in their eyes. The three of them smirked when they saw the oh-so-fimiliar fire in the girl's green eyes.

And as we now leave our friends behind, we know that the adventure hasn't ended, it has only just started.

END

BE SURE TO STAY TUNED FOR THE SEQUEL: The uncrowned queen


	18. Sequel had been uploaded

I am SO sorry! I uploaded the sequel to this story, " **The Uncrowned Queen** " eons ago, but forgot to remove the notifications I posted at the end of this book.

So without further delay: Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present to you: The Uncrowned Queen

s/12586299/1/The-Uncrowned-queen-Sequel-to-Scorned-Lady


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